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Skaters nail famous victory

12/12/2019

11 Comments

 
Picture
By Catherine Watson
 
“NEVER work with animals or children,” actor W. C. Fields famously said, and there was never any question about the result once a contingent of kids stormed the Cowes cultural centre on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Carrying their skateboards and home-made signs, the kids took up their positions on the floor for the final Bass Coast council meeting of the year. There was no mucking about or chattering.
 
They sat through the acknowledgment of country, the oath, the questions, the councillors’ reports …and the meeting hadn’t even really begun.

It was hard to tell if they were aware of their opposition – the adults sitting on chairs across the way – but if they were they ignored them and stared silently and sternly at the assembled councillors.
 
If they’d been any older the hard floor might have broken their resolve, but their limbs were young and flexible enough to sit there all day, if that’s what it took.
 
At one stage, with a very crowded agenda, it looked as though the real danger was that it would be past their bedtime before the all-important item H7 – a vote on whether to locate the Bass Coast regional skate park at Newhaven – until councillors rearranged the schedule to put it at the top.
 
For those who don’t know the skate park saga, here’s the short version: last year the council secured a $600,000 State Government grant to build a $1.2 million regional skate park. The condition was that the park had to be sizeable (over 1000 square metres) and it had to be central for all the shire’s skateboarders.  
 
The preferred site was on the San Remo foreshore, until someone discovered it was a mass of underground services. Council officers proposed relocating to Grayden’s Reserve in Newhaven, a small park just over the bridge alongside the highway.
 
That’s when local residents got their backs up, citing concerns over the loss of public open space, noise, parking and unsavoury elements congregating at skate parks (clearly not the wholesome kids there on Wednesday).
 
Since then it’s become a numbers game: a petition of 236 against, mostly Newhaven residents. Then the island skateboarding community swung into action: 94 letters in support. The residents rallied: 15 letters against. Even Solomon might have been baffled on how to solve this one.
 
Cr Pamela Rothfield bravely took up the challenge. She argued that councillors should defer the matter until next year and think about some other options. “I would have loved it to be in San Remo. I think there is logic to it being in Newhaven or perhaps Cape Woolamai. We just need to be a little more courageous in looking at what is available.”
 
Her argument was loudly applauded by the contingent of Newhaven residents, but if any of Cr Rothfield’s fellow councillors were convinced, they only had to look across the floor at the resolute kids and their mums and dads to think better of it.
 
“Let’s get on with it,” Cr Clare Le Serve said. “I know some of the people in this room were the age of these kids when they first came to council and now they’re grown men.”
 
“Some of those people have grandkids here now,” Cr Stephen Fullarton pointed out. ”That’s how long our community’s been waiting.
 
“A skate park was mentioned back in 1985. I apologise to our community but local government wheels turn very, very slowly. “
 
Cr Fullarton said he would like to see the skatepark on the carnival site in Cowes, which the council is in the process of buying for recreation.
 
“I dispute the claim that the skateboard park has to be in the centre of the shires. In my opinion, it has to be in the centre of where the users are, which is Phillip Island, San Remo and Woolamai. That’s our surfing and skating community.”
 
Loud applause from the other side!
 
Cr Julian Brown was unimpressed with his colleague’s argument. It was a regional skate park, he pointed out, and that meant it had to be accessible to skaters from all parts of the shire.
 
Muted applause. Presumably no Wonthaggi or Inverloch skaters had made the trek to Cowes.
 
“Last night I was getting emails every 15 minutes from people in favour of the skate park,” Cr Geoff Ellis commented. “Three nights earlier it was from the people opposed. It’s not a reality TV show and we’re not going to make a decision based on the size of the applause.”
 
Point taken. Silence.
 
“Time to vote,” said Mayor Brett Tessari. “All in favour of the recommendation? … Carried!”
 
Loud cheering and a few whistles. Job done, the kids filed out and went home for tea. The Newhaven residents left quietly. 
11 Comments
christopher day
13/12/2019 10:10:24 am

So like with the dogs on beach issue the only way to get Bass Coast council to make a decision in your favour is to take over the meeting room?
With the dogs how many actually ever walk on beach every day like we have for last 20 years and see what happens/ Certainly not a shire ranger never saw one in last 20 years except buying coffee in town.
With skate park hopefully all those who crowded meeting will now go out fund raising as no way will the San Remo community "allow" the San Remo community stand bye and let the money that was collected from developers for the betterment of San Remo existing township to be spent on skate park in Newhaven or anywhere else.
Theis money was as a result of the decisions made by Bass Coast Council and adopted as council policy as part of the agreement to allow future developments to occur. It is all in writing and approved by successive councils. Clr Le Clare knows full well as she was councillor at that time and even mayor during part of the 2 plus years that these negotiations occured. There's a
enough people still living and alive in San Remo today who have both hard and computer copy's of everything that was part of that agreement.
The San Remo area has seen virtually none of the infrastructure that Bass Coast were suppose to provide BEFORE development took place and virtually no infrastructure since it started. Council clearly desperate for the new rate collection income but "have No Money" to spend yet they find money for a skate park.
I would point out if the terribly planned, waste of money Skate Park had proceeded at San Remo there is no way the San Remo community would have agreed to the San Remo community money would have been spent on it.
That was just another stupid Council decision in their desperate actions to support Labour party win Bass seat in last State election.We might be old but we're not stupid we've seen political decisions all our life we know when politicians of all sides of politics treat the people who actually pay the bills for granted. W e saw in in USA and Australian elections and as i write this most likely in UK elections where polls have just closed.
To Bass Coast Councillors yes you should represent all members of this community including those under 18. But also you surely should know by now the only ones who pay the money that you get paid and spend like its a bottomless pit of money are ratepayers, nobody else pays for your actions. Yes there is the odd Government (Federal & State) hand outs but their always driven by political decisions and always there is a price to pay for it, and of course that money only comes from those that pay taxes there's in no where else to collect it from.
If this decision to spend San Remo community money is taken by Council than i can see that the San Remo community would most likely challenge it through various options and the community does have good legal advice available to it.
We've won before at VCAT for instance we can do it again.

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sunny
13/12/2019 04:31:53 pm

I would be interested to know how many people actually want the skate park compared to how many people live in the shire, what percentage are we talking about?
There has to be other options to keep it away from housing.

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Jean
21/12/2019 10:42:18 am

Yes Sunny it would be interesting to know how many people want a skate park as a priority since we already have several of them in the district. Yes there are endless options to locate a Regional Skate Park in an appropriate spot that could be so remarkable for the kids and so the rate payers of Newhaven can keep their green tree filled open park space that is a children's playground and a Memorial space, but that seems to be just a little bit too sensible for BCS to get their head around.

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Donna
16/12/2019 07:51:46 am

I would like to thank councillors Pam Rothfield ,Stephen Fullarton ,Mike Whelan and Clare Leserve for listening to Newhaven Residents opposed to our small park in our small community being sacrificed for a regional skate park facility. They explained it goes against their own skate strategy and is not supported by most members of the Newhaven community. They also pointed out the decision on changing the use of our much loved park is premature in view of the future vic roads plans to build a roundabout and widen the main road which will impact on the park. They were however unable to convince fellow councillors that a more suitable site should be found. I am relieved to learn that a democratic process now kicks in and that when the plans are submitted to council for approval, residents apposed will have the opportunity to object, and apppeal any decision they are unhappy with at VCAT ,where the issue will be determined by a independent state appointed panel. Panel members with planning qualifications will determine the matter without emotion, with judgment based on the Bass Coast Planning scheme and other applicable strategic plans on regulations related to development that have already been adopted by council. While everyone would like to see the regional skate park go ahead in the shire ,it must be located on a safe and suitable site, and not as a matter of expediency. Personally I would love to see play equipment suitable for the five disabled groups that visit this park on a weekly basis.

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James
16/12/2019 12:21:18 pm

What an odd thing for a paper that promotes social justice issues ad nauseum to feature a photo that appears to have children possibly guided by their parents and I am led to believe teachers that have the word hate and haters as a message. Who is the message directed at and why. All these children attend a school that has a sign that says bullying will not be tolerated and name calling is exactly that. I know of no adult that objected to this skate park being built only the location. Is the photo depicted to attempt to label those adults who expressed opposition to the location as "haters" ,one would hope not as nothing could be further from the truth.

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Phyllis Papps
22/12/2019 09:14:44 am

Everyone who has replied to this article written by Catherine Watson has used their first name only, except for Christopher Day. The issues are major for San Remo, Newhaven and the rest of the Bass region.

I don't think you have the right to vent your rage, anger, frustrations, judgements etc. etc.(in an anonymous way) to the editor of Bass Coast Post and to Bass Coast Shire Council.
Do it the proper way- through due process, community activism, petitions, letters, setting up formal committees, not for profit organizations, etc.

Sending nasty letters to Bass Coast Post, nasty Emails to Councillors and Council staff IS NOT the right way to go about it.

This is from someone who has learned the lesson the hard way.

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jean Beaumont
22/12/2019 01:11:09 pm

We have been placed into a desperate situation, we didn't ask for it and yes we the people of Newhaven are the ones in a desperate situation, this is our township and our environment about to be destroyed, there is no turning back from a park full of concrete and no trees and no grass. Desperate times thrown at people create desperate reactions from people, that's a natural given. We have gone down all the roads of niceties, no one listens to niceties, we have gone down every avenue that you list Phyllis and as the ratepayers who simply want our park left as a park have never been considered fairly or morally in this ugly equation, the deal was done and dusted without any decency or any consultation, we knew as rate payers the night before via a desperate door knock that there was a meeting in the park about the up and coming concrete dump. We certainly had a different level of consultation regarding San Remo's Skate Park Planning, in comparison it was almost respectful compared to what we have had as Newhavener's. It wouldn't matter what avenue we went down or how we conducted ourselves, we feel discriminated against for being an older community. We have worked tirelessly to save our park for the past 3 months to the point of tears and exhaustion. The BCS have this one completely wrong on so many levels and injustice isn't something I deal with very well. So VCAT it is!

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Phyllis Papps
22/12/2019 02:01:31 pm

Thank you Jean for your very honest, informative and insightful comments. So if it goes to VCAT, then that is the correct process.

We did this at Rhyll, some years ago and it happened again and again and now is happening again.

We ALL want to preserve our environment, our trees, our wildlife, our parklands and preserve them for future generations.

Community consultation is absolutely essential, so is justice, lack of discrimination and fairness for all in the community.

I am an elderly person in our community.
Good luck with your campaign.

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jean Beaumont
22/12/2019 07:52:23 pm

Thank you Phyllis, yes i am middle aged and have 2 children, I have lived in Newhaven since I was born. What the BCS seems to forget is the people of Newhaven are about to experience a huge loss, it is not a gain or a so called upgrade for the Newhaven community, it's absolute destruction of a tiny green environment and our children's play ground. It will benefit a handful who live here and it is certainly a gain for the wheel riding children from the townships on either side of us, although in a ridiculous and dangerous spot for those children to attend, but the rest of us will have no use for that concrete environment that will replace our beautiful park that we all love to have as a point of freedom and green open space to gather at and to have in our vision. To accomadate a Regional Skate park no doubt that space has to be mostly treeless, the trees that do stay will be root damaged and most probably die from the concrete toxins and the space will obviously have to be void of a flat open grass space or any decent natural environment. Yes we are the ones who are experiencing loss so we are the ones expressing ourselves with frustration and anger, because we are the only people who are directly affected and the ones least consulted with. Again it is our loss, not our gain. Newhaven asks for nothing, we haven't any any money spent on Newhaven for decades, we don't put our hand out either, and suddenly yes we are getting money spent on us on a development that the majority of us have zero use for or don't want, and we pay our $2,000 of rates annually. Thank you Phyllis for your kind words of support and reminding us to use our manners! Somehow I think we have however moved past politeness and manners! You're a gem and obviously a lady who loves nature and the natural environment that the island is fast loosing sight of.

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james
23/12/2019 07:19:36 pm

Phyllis, the people of Newhaven have attached their names and address to petitions and letters to Council that is not an issue. This report has not been even handed nor has the editor carried out any extensive investigations as a journalist should with the Newhaven residents, this is not the first time this lack of consultation has been applied. The placing of a photograph showing young children who have been duped by their parents and others holding those hate signs should never have been used. If they lost the signs a group of smiling faces would have been more acceptable.
Now after following all the right protocols with approximately 80% of residents opposed as are most non resident visitors to the park we have arrogant councillors from our ward ignoring the voting ratepayers. There are many in San Remo who support the Newhaven residents and I dare say based on my experience would not support councillors Kent or Ellis in an election due to their lack of support for Newhaven residents. So Phyllis we have done everything by the book and the fact we do not always publish our names here is to avoid the rude backlash that has been administered by some who live in another area that has over 200 youth . That is where the ramp should go.

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christopher day
24/12/2019 12:43:10 pm

Phyllis thanks for your comments created a few more comments! I much prefer to be upfront when commenting on local issues but up the individuals if their happy to do that.or not I've found over the years in San Remo and across the Island that it has often create conversations with other members of our local community and mostly always been pleased to see issues they have concerned about raised. Being member of San Remo Probus and knowing many Probians across the Island community its created many a email or phone call. Its better we as community are open with our views whatever they are.
While there are comments about San Remo skate park resolved much easier than Newhaven thats far from reality, the public meeting with our 3 councillors and a mediator was one of the worst public meetings i've ever been to (and of been to a few) the attitude of 2 of a our 3 councillors we're appalling and the 3rd more experienced councillor spent most of the meeting trying to protect them from the response they we're getting from their own comments, they we're slow to learn that they were out of step to the residents they were suppose to represent.
Hard to see anyone at those meetings as resident of San Remo and surrounding areas will forget that meeting next time they fill in ballot paper at council election or any other local election if they believe they should go to Spring Street or Canberra to further their career.
One reminds me of Jeremy Corban might get same result!!

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