ALP push for new anti-democratic laws at Yarra: SP

[LiteraryPiano]

The Finance and Governance Committee meeting of Yarra Council on Monday night saw high drama and a walkout as the ALP began their push for a new local law to effectively cut residents out of Council meetings. The proposed law will also introduce harsh punishments for minority Councillors who are deemed by their political opponents to be breaching the vaguely worded ‘Code of Conduct’.
By Socialist Party reporters Melbourne

The behaviour of Councillors is covered by the Victorian Local Government Act and the Council’s Code of Conduct. The Act is already strict and allows for the summary dismissal of Councils and Councillors by the Minister.

However it seems this is not enough for ALP Councillors who, at Yarra, have to face a very organised and politically aware community and the only Socialist Councillor in Australia, the Socialist Party’s Stephen Jolly.

The ALP are backing a recommendation from the unelected senior officers at Yarra Council to radically ramp up the Code of Conduct to make it the most ruthless in Victoria. For example:

1. A Councillor found by a majority of Councillors to breach the Code of Conduct can be fined $2000, forced to make a public apology, lose their child care support to get to meetings, lose their phone and their computer access, and be expelled from Committees.
2. If a Councillor is sued in the course of their duties by a business or individual they have to pay a $5000 access to the insurance company for legal help whether found guilty or not. This amount will be the same for a millionaire Councillor or a Councillor on low pay.
3. Suspension of Standing Orders will be banned. At the moment residents often attend Council meetings in big numbers to lobby on key issues. By suspending standing orders they can address Councillors. This tactic has succeeded in many times to help force change. The new law bans it. Residents can only sit and listen or have 2 minutes to ask a question under tight regulation.

Under questioning from SP Cllr Stephen Jolly on Monday night, Ivan Gilbert the Executive Manager of Governance admitted that:

1. No Councillor had been found guilty of breeching the Code of Conduct since Yarra was established in 1994. So it’s obvious the new changes are aimed at current Councillors.
2. He also admitted there would be no guarantee that a political majority could not abuse the laws against a political minority.

For the ALP, when they can’t win the political debates they try to use organisational methods to repress political dissent. This law is clearly aimed (to start with) at the Socialist Party and at community mobilisation.

It has been the combination of the SP and community mobilisations that has helped save The Cottages and the St Vinnies de Paul Community Shop. It has also put public housing issues on the map, and assisted with many, many other victories over the past three years.

Last night the ALP Chair of the Finance and Governance Committee, Cllr Paul D’Agastino, refused to allow residents to address the meeting to question and criticise the new law. This provoked a walkout by SP Cllr Jolly, Green Cllr Jenny Farrar and Independent Cllr Jackie Fristacky thus taking away the meeting quorum.

After fierce argument no-one was game to move the motion supporting the Local Law and it lapsed.

The Council CEO, Justin Hanney, then surprisingly announced that the Executive he leads will resubmit the Local Law at the December Committee meeting and this will probably lead to the final vote two weeks later at the full Council meeting.

As SP Cllr Stephen Jolly will be overseas for the Committee meeting the vote could be 2-2 (Fristacky and Farrar against vs two ALP Councillors, D’Agastino and Kay Meadows in favour).

As the ALP have the Chair, they have the casting vote when there is a tie. Therefore the local law could be approved at the Committee meeting and then go to full Council for final approval two weeks later.

This proposed law will be resisted through defiance, mass action, and a legal challenge. The Socialist Party pledges to organise the biggest mobilisation yet outside the Richmond Town Hall on the night of the December Council meeting (Tuesday 18th December 7pm). We refuse to stand by whilst the ALP attempts to push through this anti-democratic legislation which is aimed at assisting the process of them implementing their neo-liberal polices.

Source.

[spikeyred]

Indeed!

I suppose, as the only Socialist Party member on this forum, I am obliged to give a little bit of background...

Yarra City Council is an amalgamation of 3 of Melbourne's old, inner city and tradtionally very working class Councils. These are Richmond, Collingwood and Fitzroy. The Socialist Party has been conducting it's limted resources there in a concerted effort since 1993 when we were leaders in the campaign to save Richmond High School from the Kennet Governments bulldozer. This involved community occupation, running of the rebel high school and picketing.
We were also one of the leading groups that put Safe Injecting rooms on the agenda in 1999, and saw their introduction to help alleviate the Heroine crisis that hit Melbourne. I should also mention that we were formerly known as 'Militant' or 'Militant Socialist Organization'

Our concentrated work of building organic links with the working class and community has paid off and in (i think) 2005 we were successful in getting Steve Jolly elected as a councilor.
Prior too the elected council of 2005 Yarra was controlled by the Greens, who of course folded under the pressure of the interests of Buisness and continued a Neo-Liberal program, in fact, from memory, I think some of their budgets were more Neo-Liberal (Cuts, debt payment) etc than the former ALP council.

The Socialist Party has successfully set it's self up as a defacto Opposition on council, but none the less, even with only 1 councilor of 9, won many, many victories through tactics of community mobilizations mainly. For example, we worked with, I believe it was the mothers group, trying to save one of the last Kindergartens in the city of yarra from being shut down, and at the final votes, we had the gallery stacked with supporters, of whom Steve was able to suspend standing orders, let the residents speak and pressure the other councilors to do the right thing.
We have also won other victories in area's from Public Housing, Aboriginal affairs through to Community infrastructure.

Incidentally our biggest support base is in the housing commissions, particularly Atherton Gardens in Fitzroy. When Steve stood at the State election last year, and received 5% of the vote for the entire seat, he received 22% of the Housing commission votes. We are also standing a candidate in the area for the Federal Election, Kylie McGregor.

This leads me too the relevance of nicks posting of he above article. This ALP supported resolution is aimed squarely at Steve and the Socialist Party, has been put forward by the Senior , unelected executives on Yarra council. This is an absolute disgrace. There have been many attempts leading up too this by various people and groups too take the edge off Steve and the SP. Earlier this year when the Socialist Party called a rally and march on Smith Street over the issue of aboriginal drinking, the Green's mayor sent him an email, warning him of the 'Code of Conduct', talking about the event as not being Council of Yarra sanctioned or endorsed etc. Steve shot back that he was not a PR officer for Yarra and he was answerable to the electorate, and not Council staff. I still have the emails if you want me to post them, they are amusing.
However the point I am making is that behind the scenes there has been growing dismay by the Burgeoise political representatives of the seriousness of Steve and the SP and the fact that their growing attempts to curtail us have failed, leading too this much more direct attack.

Steve once said to me that, first they try to ignore you, and they did this for the first 12 months, then, they laugh at you, which was what they were doing for a bit, thirdly they brand you as Dangerous (ohhh evil communist etc etc!), which they have been doing little bit by little bit, culminating in this. Then he said they steal your idea's. They haven't done the last yet... but we will see.