‘Barbie bribe’ before polls

By Callan Date
A BLATANT ‘barbie bribe.’
That’s how one former councillor Michael Shepherdson, has summed up an attempt to allocate each of Casey’s 11 councillors $2000 to spend on community barbecues.
It means $22,000 of snags and sauce were set to be served up across the city if Cr Michael Farley’s motion was successful last week.
Even more disturbing for Mr Shepherdson, a Cranbourne resident, was the fact the barbecues were to be held before November’s council elections.
“The way that the motion was put, it was just a barbie bribe before the caretaker period sets in,” Mr Shepherdson said.
Crs Rob Wilson and Paul Richardson were the other councillors to support the motion, which was eventually lost.
Mr Shepherdson said the sausage sizzle splurge demonstrated how out of touch some councillors were.
“It is an attempt at boosting their image weeks before a council election.
“I can think of many things that $22,000 of ratepayers’ money could do. It is like saying 22 householders’ rates are going directly to sausages.”
Cr Farley raised the idea after he attended a councillor development weekend in Lorne last month.
He said a speaker at the conference suggested the idea was a good way to break down barriers in the community and get closer to the people.
Mr Shepherdson disagrees.
“When I was on council I set up a table and chair down at the local shopping centre and residents came to me with their issues. It didn’t cost council a cent,” he said.
Cr Farley defended his decision to have the money spent on community barbecues.
He said it was about bringing local people together.
“It is about engaging your community so that they know who lives next door to them and they know who lives across the road from them.
“It is not about electioneering and not about being political,” he said.
The Springfield Ward councillor said he thought his idea would be successful.
“It was meant to be $2000 over 12 months. Councillors could have three or four barbecues each year,” Mr Farley said.