VIDEO recordings of public Kingston Council meetings have not been tampered with in any way, the mayor Cr Steve Staikos says. The mayor responded to allegations made in Parliament by Liberal state Upper House MP for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region Inga Peulich last month by writing to the Victorian Legislative Council asking that the parliamentary record be corrected. In wide-ranging criticism of Kingston Council, made under parliamentary privilege on 7 March, Ms Peulich said: “The City of Kingston appears to be perhaps a little lacking in openness in relation to the public record of its council meetings. “Audio recordings have been…
Author: Neil Walker
A “NATION building” infrastructure project has been accused of leaving a trail of destruction in its wake through Kingston. The rollout of the national broadband network internet by NBN Co has been slammed by councillors at Kingston Council’s latest public council meeting. It emerged that utilities companies are citing “emergency works order” provisions to avoid the need to inform council about the NBN rollout. Cr Georgina Oxley said NBN Co contractors have been turned up to do major street works without notifying residents in the weeks beforehand and have left footpaths and nature strips in an “unacceptable” condition. “The NBN…
A SPATE of fake parking tickets emailed to residents has Frankston Council warning people not to pay scammers. Fraudulent parking infringement notices have been sent by email to several people over the past few weeks. The mayor Cr Colin Hampton said council only issues parking tickets in the mail, as a printed ticket on a vehicle’s windscreen or in person by a parking officer on patrol. “Council doesn’t issue infringements via email. Anyone who receives an email which claims to be an infringement from Frankston City Council should treat this very seriously,” Cr Hampton said. The mayor said recipients should…
A NEWBORN baby was among the occupants of a Frankston house hit by gunfire early this morning (31 May). Police said a drive-by shooting was reported just before 5am on Warrain Street and a car at the home was also set on fire. Three adults and a one-week-old baby were in the property when the shots were fired. Police found bullet casings at the scene. No-one was injured. About ten minutes after the drive-by shooting, a car was set alight in Carramar Drive. Police are investigating whether the second car fire is related to the first car fire and the…
COUNCILLORS and mayors who seriously misbehave could be suspended for up to a year under new provisions in an amended Local Government Act introduced by the state government. Victorian Local Government Minister Marlene Kairouz introduced a bill into Parliament last Wednesday (23 May) to replace the Local Government Act 1989 in a move the Labor state government says “will modernise” councils across the state. “Clearly defining” sexual harassment has been included in a revised councillors’ code of conduct included in the new Local Government Act. The inclusion of the clause follows a high-profile investigation of former Melbourne lord mayor Robert…