Dandenong Country Women’s Association president Lorraine Trickey and the branch’s members will fight a council-instigated move to evict them from the Palm Plaza Meeting Room, where the group has met for the past 40 years.
By Shaun Inguanzo
DANDENONG’s Country Women’s Association fears a move by Greater Dandenong council to evict it from a hall is a cost-cutting exercise and could spell the end of the 73-year-old branch.
But Greater Dandenong council has rejected claims the move is to raise revenue, instead it says it will allow more community groups access to the city’s halls.
Dandenong CWA treasurer Marilyn Hester this week said the group would fight any attempt to boot the organisation from the Palm Plaza Meeting Room where it has met for 40 years.
Ms Hester said several months ago a council officer met with the group to reveal council’s plan to relocate the organisation to the Dandenong Senior Citizens Club in Langhorne Street – without any prior consultation.
She said the CWA was given no notice in writing, and was not asked for feedback on the plan.
“She (the officer) said it is a cost-cutting exercise,” Ms Hester said.
“But to us, it appears they just want us out of there so they can have total control of the hall.”
Ms Hester said the group had concerns about sharing the same facility as the Senior Citizens Club, including attracting younger members who may think the group is only for elderly citizens.
“They think we are all old people and they can throw us in together. But the CWA is for women aged 14 years through to however long you can go for,” she said.
She said with numbers falling, any failure to capture new members could spell the death of the branch in the future.
Ms Hester said CWA members were appalled with the plan and would fight it.
“They are not just going make us move,” she said.
“We are going to fight this, and fight it hard.
“We may be a group (council) thinks it can push around, but we are not; we are going to stand up to this and do everything we can to stay where we are.”
Ms Hester said the Senior Citizens Club and the CWA were two very different organisations, but the council believed both groups were for only elderly residents.
Greater Dandenong community services director June Dugina said the move was not in the name of cost-cutting.
“It must be remembered that such clubs utilise council facilities free of charge and it is a priority for council to ensure groups have an opportunity to meet socially in a community setting,” she said.
“Council has met on numerous occasions with members of the Country Women’s Association Dandenong branch to discuss their declining numbers and options for appropriate sized meeting rooms. “Council has suggested this option to a number of groups across the city who have willingly accepted the idea.
“This results in better use of public assets and accommodates more, non-for-profit community groups.”
Dandenong CWA, a 40-member branch of the Australian-wide CWA network, raises funds and creates craftwork, contributing the money, clothes and toys to needy community groups and hospital patients.
Its history dates back to 1934 when disastrous floods struck Dandenong, and branch members distributed food and took destitute people into their homes.
