THE Dandenong Residents and Ratepayers Association (DRRA) congratulates former City of Greater Dandenong CEO Carl Wulff on finding himself a new, and seemingly more lucrative, position interstate.
Ipswich, Queensland, is apparently a city of much wider opportunity for council officers than Greater Dandenong; and perhaps it will be more amenable to public private partnerships. We wish Carl the best of luck in his ambitions.
Perhaps other Greater Dandenong council officers will also soon be seeking new employment opportunities elsewhere, after some of the current entrepreneurial schemes, like The Drum, Metro 3175 and the Market redevelopment, begin to unravel.
Mr Wulff’s resignation, in the second year of his five-year contract, and seemingly after his failure to convince the Greater Dandenong Council to implement his Strategic Services Partnership “vision”, has given our councillors a fortuitous opportunity to rectify an apparent past error of judgment.
Council officers are employed to provide proper information and advice for the elected representatives of the ratepayers, the councillors; and to ensure that ensuing council decisions are properly implemented by efficient service administration.
The CEO and council officers are public servants, and are not, as some of them seem to think, the city’s leaders!
It’s now time for the councillors to resume proper control of their staff and get Greater Dandenong back on track to ensure that it really is a “city of opportunity” for the entire community, not just for entrepreneurs and developers.
Janet Cox,
Secretary,
Dandenong Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association.
IT was disappointing to see the reaction of drivers to the upsurge in petrol prices for Easter and their hopeless outlook on a situation, over which they feel they have no control.
Rubbish! Motorists, if they considered their position and are willing to get off their backsides and use their numbers at the voting box, can throw governments and individual politicians out.
The argument put forth, especially in the pricing of petrol, by politicians is that it’s the fault of the markets.
Who votes politicians into office? Is it the market? Is it the UN with its ‘international obligation tag’ that is flown in our face, time and time again? Is it big corporations, or is it the general public?
What also is the definition of democracy? Government by the people, for the people, on behalf of the people. We vote politicians in and we can vote them out.
I don’t believe that politicians can not do anything about high petrol prices. If there was a chance that they would be voted out of their highly paid positions, their perks and privileges with their gold cards and questionable overseas trips and their superannuation arrangements, they would bring down petrol prices and make oil companies accountable for their massive millions in profits.
The motorists get kicked at every opportunity and are the main source for political revenue and unless we say enough is enough we will continue to be kicked.
I would suggest motorists put pen to paper to all government politicians, with just a short message: “Bring down oil prices or lose your seat”.
Richard Ryan,
Dandenong.
What’s up,
Docs?
THE Dandenong West Medical Centre in Victoria will be closing down on 26 April.
I’m told this is due to a shortage of doctors.
So what the hell are we supposed to do? This clinic is the mainstay in our little shopping centre.
You do your shopping and then go to the doctor, then to the chemist to pick up your script.
A lot of oldies can’t drive any more. This will bring hardship to a lot of people in our community. There must be something our politicians and councils can do.
Get some doctors in and fast!
D. Keller,
Dandenong.
