Plenty of puff, but little power from Liberals

I WRITE in regard to the ‘wrap-around’ featured on the outside of last week’s editions of The News.
It was a cleverly designed ‘advertisement’ that was meant to look like ‘real editorial’ with the aim of confusing many readers that what they were reading was actually ‘factual journalism’!
Disappointingly, but not unexpectedly (as after-all it was actually a Liberal Party paid election advertisement) it didn’t really tell the full story!
I assume that my council colleague and Liberal candidate Geoff Ablett was including me in what the advertisement referred to as the ‘Labor/Greens gang of six councillors’.
I am, and always have been, a proud member of the ALP and have never hidden my political affiliations and beliefs throughout my 14-year local government career but I have always voted based on the issue at hand, my conscience and what I thought was in the best interests of my River Gum Ward residents and all residents of the City of Casey.
For doing that, I have often been accused of voting the ALP way and sometimes even voting the Liberal or conservative way.
What Cr Ablett didn’t tell in the advertisement was that he was only able to become mayor in 2008 because he was part of a ‘Labor/Greens’ gang of six councillors himself – a grouping that didn’t include me.
I agonised for a long time in order to come to my decision to support the State Government’s $20 million offer regarding the Stephensons Road Landfill issue.
Did I think it was a good deal for Casey and its ratepayers? No. Was it the best deal offered? Yes.
In fact it was the only offer on the table – at the time, I spoke to two of my fellow councillors and Liberal candidates, mayor Lorraine Wreford and Cr Ablett, requesting them to use their influence to get the State Opposition (Liberal Party) to come out publicly with an election promise to contribute the necessary amount (or at least a higher amount than what was on the table from the Government). They claimed they didn’t have that level of influence and no statement or offer was going to be forthcoming!
When it was clear to me that no better deal was coming, accepting the Government’s $20 million offer, in fact the only offer that was able to be considered, was the only decision I could support.
What would have made the difference in this entire matter would have been a Liberal Party announcement that ‘if a Baillieu Government was elected, that they would provide the necessary funding’ – the funding that they are now criticising the Brumby Government for not providing.
They forget to say that at least the Brumby Government has provided $20 million – in fact, they have not promised or declared they would provide anything. The advertisement is full of criticisms but there are no solutions, promises or counter-offers.
Not a single one of the Liberal Party candidates featured in the advertisement have been able to show that they have any power or influence with the Liberal Party machine in order to get a commitment from a possible Baillieu-Government.
What we need in Casey are local MPs who have the ear of their leader. We currently have many ALP MPs whose influence in the Brumby Government is obvious demonstrated by the millions of dollars of funding that they have achieved for their Casey electorates.
The Liberal Party candidates featured in last week’s advertisement proved that they are full of criticism but have no actual power or influence with their party or leader and were, without exception, unable to provide any promises or solutions to local issues.
Wayne Smith,
River Gum Ward councillor,
City of Casey.