By Ethan Benedicto
The City of Casey’s April meeting on Tuesday the 18th saw a motion moved for a draft on eight planning documents to be open to the public.
However, this was met with criticism and resistance from Grevillea Ward councillor Dave Perry, who sought a more insightful look from the council into said documents before releasing them for public exhibition.
It is important to note that these eight documents were not voted for passing but were voted to be open for public scrutiny.
Perry acknowledged the work and expertise that went into the creation of the eight documents from the officers but was bewildered as to why all eight were to be moved in one motion.
“I just have a problem with all documents being out together in one agenda item to be voted on,” he said.
Reiterating how grateful he is for the inclusion of key drafts, especially ones that included key infrastructure in Grevillea Ward, he remained adamant that it was difficult to comprehend the eight documents’ delivery in one swift motion.
“I (also) want to highlight that the council plan is hard to read, we can ask a lot of residents to give their feedback, but it’s difficult to read and it’s disjointed.
“The snapshot of the evidence doesn’t really feed into the strategic outcomes in any meaningful way, and to me, this doesn’t really reflect the community sentiment,” he said.
Perry also asked if there was “no chance” that the documents could have been separated into individual documents that would “fit a little better”.
“I mean eight at once is – some of them are great, and some of them I think we could discuss a little bit more,” he said.
Casey’s manager of city and asset planning, Keri New, responded that it was a requirement through the Local Government Act 2020 to present the “suite of corporate planning documents in one sitting”.
The documents themselves are still in their draft format, and according to New, this allows the council and officers to move forward with public exhibition and provide the people the chance to give feedback.
The eight drafts are: Draft Long Term Community Vision 2025; Draft Council Plan 2025-2029; Draft Annual Action Plan 2025/26; Draft Financial Plan 2025/26 – 2034/35; Draft Budget Report and Capital Works Program 2025/26; Draft Revenue and Rating Plan 2025-2029; Draft Asset Plan 2025-35; Draft Road Management Plan 2025.
“These documents have been drafted following a comprehensive community consultation and deliberative engagement program called ‘shape your city’ that occurred between June to September 2024,” New said.
“Council used the insights from this engagement to ensure our planning and priorities continue to align with those of our community.”
In response, Cr Lynette Pereira moved the motion, and it was seconded by Cr Gary Rowe.
The timeline for the documents looks like this: public exhibition will begin on Thursday, 17 April and will last until 8 May (Road Plan until 15 May), with a public hearing on submissions to be held on 27 May, and adoption planned for 17 June.
Perry added that he is aware that there was community consultation prior to the drafts, but still feels that the documents themselves “don’t feed into the priorities like I feel it should”.
He said that it was appreciated that councillors’ feedback was taken on by the officers in the making of the documents.
Once more, though, he said, “I really think that the current mood of our communities tells us that we need to listen to local residents”.
Cr and deputy mayor Ambrose, Cr Crowther and Cr Dizon also spoke on the motion, not in protest, but in acknowledgement of the importance of the documents and what they entail for the future.
Mayor Koomen commended the officers’ work, as well as the “healthy debate and discussion about the priorities for our municipality as a whole”.
He acknowledged that to an extent, “there’s some quite dry content in here (that are) very finance heavy”, but it also allows them to take the next step to consulting the community.
To end, 11 out of 12 councillors were in favour of moving the motion, with Cr Perry keeping his hand down.
The overall draft suite spans roughly 400 pages; this story is developing, and more information will be added at a later date.
