By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
What do you think? Scroll to below this story to post a comment, or at facebook.com/greaterdandenongweekly or or use Twitter @DandenongWeekly
A GREATER Dandenong councillor has warned voters in October’s council elections not to be swayed by any promises to change a Springvale public space’s name to ‘Saigon Square’.
Councillor Roz Blades, one of six councillors targeted in a campaign pamphlet against the naming of ‘Multicultural Place’ in March, said it was too late to change the name.
‘‘They want people to vote for them on the basis that they’ll change Multicultural Place to Saigon Square,’’ she said. ‘‘I’ve told them all that it can’t be changed.’’
Cr Peter Brown, who was among the six councillors targeted in the pamphlet, said Multicultural Place had been adopted by the council.
‘‘Places Victoria is not going to change its mind because of a council election,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s public land, it’s in public documents and the Melway. You can’t change it after every council election — it’s not going to happen.’’
The pamphlet, titled Dan Len Tieng (People Speak Out) and printed mostly in Vietnamese, stated the six ‘‘arrogant’’ councillors ‘‘simply pooh-poohed the people’’.
‘‘It’s more than just about naming a place. It’s about politicians disrespecting the people. It’s about democracy,’’ it stated.
Trung Doan, a convener of a pro-Saigon Square group, said the campaign ‘‘wasn’t necessarily to restore the name but to express dissatisfaction against the councillors’’.
Finding out who is behind the pamphlet is problematic; it does not appear to be authorised by anyone. Under Victorian Electoral Commission rules, the name and address of an ‘authoriser’ must appear on published election material.
A spokeswoman for the VEC said ‘‘authorisation requirements apply at all times, not just during the election period’’. ‘‘If someone has an issue with the pamphlet, they should send their complaint in writing to us and we will forward it on to the Local Government Compliance and Investigations Inspectorate.’’
Last week, Cr Brown had unsuccessfully called for the council’s chief executive John Bennie to forward the pamphlet to the VEC.
Cr Brown said he would forward the pamphlet to the VEC himself. ‘‘Any electoral propaganda has to be authorised,’’ he later told the Weekly. ‘‘A person has to take responsibility by giving their name and contact address.’’
Cr Loi Truong, who was an apparent advertiser on the pamphlet, denied authorising the pamphlet or having prior knowledge of the ‘ad’ at last Monday’s council meeting.
Cr Brown said: ‘‘If Cr Truong hasn’t authorised it, they can’t use that elected official and their name and position without permission. That is illegal.’’
Mr Doan said Cr Brown’s motion showed he was ‘‘scared that the people have taken notice’’.
He denied he was involved in the pamphlet but said the advertisement for Cr Truong was ‘‘a way of acknowledging his leadership’’. ‘‘He was the one who led the effort to have the name [Saigon Square] accepted.’’
A pamphlet advertiser McDonald Real Estate viewed its support as akin to putting ads in the Weekly.
Group managing director Le Hoa Wysham, whose headshot and contact details feature on the ad and who has previously run for council elections in the past 10 years, said the flyer was ‘‘simply a medium for me to promote my business to a target audience’’.
‘‘I do not consider it a sponsorship of a political message any more than my weekly ads in your paper could be construed as my belief in the importance of local papers. Both are simply the pursuit of marketing opportunities.’’
Cr Brown said that if McDonald had known about the pamphlet’s content prior to sponsorship, ‘‘they’ve lost their business head’’. ‘‘Quite frankly I’m surprised McDonald would sponsor a document like that.’’
Other pamphlet advertisers Lam Loc — a business consultant — and South Eastern Melbourne Vietnamese Associations Council told the Weekly they stood by their support for the wider campaign.
Barrister Luat Dung, who advertised on the pamphlet, said he would be standing for council election on the Saigon Square issue.
For all the latest breaking news, visit greaterdandenongweekly.com.au. Also, follow the Greater Dandenong Weekly at facebook.com/greaterdandenongweekly or on Twitter @DandenongWeekly.
