Just two most serious money hurting achievements by Cr. Oliver (that I know of) - Cr. Oliver pompously stated in the Benalla Ensign (22 Oct 08) the Benalla Art Gallery as one of his achievements he was involved in for Benalla! Cr. Oliver achieved an extremely heavy burden on Benalla ratepayers with this Lakeside extravagant Benalla Art Gallery for tourist while Benalla people for many years Benalla people have been faced with hardship without support from council, now to be one of the top disadvantaged towns in Victoria, the Benalla Art Gallery continues to milk Benalla ratepayers. Yes let’s have Art and an Art Gallery for the people but not the pink elephant Cr. Oliver achievement for the tourist and a burden for Benalla ratepayers.I feel most people mainly go to the Benalla Art Gallery for meetings, conferences, lectures, concerts, food and wine expo, to the Benalla Art Gallery café where a small plate of hot chips cost $7 or to have an expensive light lunch or just a coffee with friends, this is not for Benalla people to appreciate the art work on show, parents are forced to go and see their children’s art work at the Benalla Art Gallery that they have done at school on show in the Benalla Art Gallery. These non-viewing art visitors are counted as actually Art Gallery visitors but not there for the art! And Benalla ratepayers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for the operation and maintenance to non-paying art gallery tourists, while Benalla ratepayers pay heavily - what about our Benalla people’s needs….
Cr. Oliver also contributed to the waste of Benalla ratepayers and government money/grants to the millions of dollars in support of the Benalla Saints AusBall Club and its new Lakeside (a multimillions dollar project) Gambling Complex, to be another poker machine gambling venue, revenue for the Benalla Saints AusBall Club by Benalla ratepayers and government money/grants.
I have seen the Auditor Generals Office Report into the controversial building of what now is a sad and sorry building and a very large amount of our wasted money into what is now the Benalla Saints AusBalls new Lakeside Changing rooms (Geoff Copper Building) as well through FOI the so called (large numbers? About 35) letters of approval to what originally was to be the Benalla Lakeside Saints AusBall Sporting and Gambling Complex, nearly all letters were from outer Benalla other AusBall Clubs and NetBall clubs. One letter of approval from a Benalla police officer who was a Benalla Saints AusBall member, three from St Joseph Benalla Collage were two letters from the one person at the Collage and one from the Collage sports teacher, from the Benalla Saints NetBall club members, Benalla Saints AusBall Club members too.
Cr. Oliver was Mayor at the time, certain councillors were to profit and had a conflict of interest into the building of the Lakeside Benalla Saints AusBall Sporting Gambling Complex...!
As I said the letters of approval were certainly a question of inadequacy and miss-leading with councillors knowledge, Cr. Oliver? Benalla ratepayers were told that there is overwhelming support (Mr. Mangle’s former policeman, former councilor and Benalla Saints AusBall member) for the Benalla Lakeside Sporting Gambling Complex of the Benalla Saints AusBall Club.
Money was miss-used, inappropriately to finish the job, rushed planning to have the money-eating poker machines in place fast. The Benalla Saints AusBall Club, Benalla ratepayers and government money/grants were to be on a dollar for dollar bases. Cr. Oliver and other certain councillors allowed this miss-use of ratepayer’s money to continue thanks to Cr. Oliver for this too!
National party and member for Benalla Mr. Bill Sykes openly encouraged poker machines for the AusBall clubs in the Benalla Ensign, revenue for the Benalla Saints AusBall Clubs with its poker machines. It seemed to me Mr. Sykes was not concerned on what hardship problem gamblers bring on families, in fact Mr. Sykes told me, problem gamblers should just walk away (from the poker machines).
This miss-use of ratepayers and government money/grants for Benalla, left a great burden on Benalla people and ratepayers, Benalla is one of the most disadvantaged towns in Victoria. Being a disadvantaged town already puts great stress on family, Benalla hospital, health, education, many areas of community needs including dental health care for Benalla people also stress on organizations dealing with alcohol and problem gamblers.
Cr. Oliver also made-out of his contribution to Benalla Community Health Centre, I am sure many were involved from the council other than Cr. Oliver.
Cr. Oliver was just a part of the force for this Community Health Centre. But Cr. Oliver likes to highlight this, as his achievement! I can say that I have contributed much more to the Benalla Community Health Centre, much great than Cr. Oliver did.
Mr. Sweeny than the Managing Director of the Benalla Hospital with others such as Barbara Alexander from the hospital committee also were a force for the Benalla Community for the Benalla Community Health Centre (dental health care too) to succeed in Benalla. Mr. Sweeny told me that the board used my letters I wrote to newspapers, showing the government authorities the crucial need for a Health Centre in Benalla (dental health care center); I also paid for pictorial ads in the Benalla Ensign and the Wangaratta Chronicle also regarding the need for dental health care, Benalla people were waiting over six years for government dental health care…!
Also, over a number of years I campaigned to National Party MP for Benalla Mr. Sykes and to Liberals federal member for INDI Sophie Mirabella one and the other said, it’s a state issue and the other said it’s a federal issue….!
Member for INDI Sophie Mirabella our head federal member representative to our government still refuse to help the people of INDI - I made it known to her that people in INDI are in need of badly needed dental health care. I had to spray paint over Mirabella and Howard’s campaign posters (in disgust of them) in Mirabella’s temporary Benalla election office, it was the time around of the federal elections.
Because of this, to bring the concerns, the need for dental health care, people are in agony in need for denial health care from our government; I was sentence 17 days in prison. I definitely can say, I did more than Cr. Geoff Oliver to have the Benalla Community Health Centre built.
As for Mayor Claridge, she said that the Benalla Saints AusBall Club new change room look terrible to me (I agree and its councillors fault ) I hope she does not plunge into ratepayer money and government grants for Benalla people to finish the Saints AusBall changing rooms.
Already Benalla ratepayers with government grants have surly exceeded millions of dollars to the Benalla Saints AusBall Club, let that club pay to finish their new changing room by fundraising, our money and grants have already been miss-used. Money now should be spent on the community needs:-
– On the new library.
– Danny St Toilet’s filthy complaints in Benalla Ensign need attention.
– Seats around the Benalla Gardens oval the wood needs replacing sections of seating are broken away or extremely rotted.
– Scatter and broken glass should not be left for months; council had to be told by the public to clean-up broken glass in the residential children’s playground/park and over filled Otto bin left for months in same park (Benalla Tidy Town Away….?).
– Danger areas are not being properly secured (fixed) Benalla public including children are subjected to danger, still because lack of action by council.
– Why and who authorized the over sized bus stop shelter in McKellar St opposite the Victoria Hotel. Was this stupidity approved by Benalla Engineers how many people use this bus stop anyway which is only 0.8 km from CBD (I know this very elderly lady that never uses the bus stop with this huge costly shelter she walks to CBD) this huge bus shelter is a waste of money, money could have been better used else where and three or four modest bus shelter could of been built, where truly needed.
– Council allowing the Benalla Saints Australian Rules Club to block-off the Lakeside walking path, stopping children, the elderly and families on their walk around the lake, Benalla people were forced to cross a dangerous four lane highway because this section was (gate locked) blocked from people to pass under the bridge, I was complaining to council for many years, it was about time council came to it senses only when other more prominent people started complaining too.
are just a few suggestions…….
Care must be for residential areas of Benalla too not just at the Benalla Gardens and Art Gallery areas – Benalla people need attention first and not just for the tourists and not for your own egos with Cr. Oliver. Councilors like you and Oliver are damaging Benalla, Its getting worse.
You know, speaking of egos! Mayor Claridge you will get sucked-in by the Benalla Saints AusBall Club and after ratepayer have already been cheated ripped-off; the Benalla AusBall Club will still suck up with over exaggerated statements and letters of approval…! Claridge will not know if it’s true or not even when being told by prominent members of the public…! (Not another Benalla Lakeside Saints AusBall Gambling Sporting Complex again please, no - we already have paid too much and Benalla is suffering).
Mayor Claridge also said in the Benalla Ensign that rate (22 October 2008) “Rate increases would reduce to less than 7 percent, continuing to reduce to around 5 per cent in following years” But you have put up rate to about 30%, 100%, 200% or more. Reducing rates each year, Councillor Claridge you are miss-leading us again?
Council spending, staffing, consultants too, bad management, bad staff, by-law officers that allow able people to park in disable parking bays and senseless statements from by-law officers regarding illegal placement of Art Gallery café advertising sign on road carriageway, Benalla council engineers advice on concerning issues I have had ridiculous answers from Benalla engineers without common sense, the front office
girl(s) and their unconcerned attitude to customs.
Stop being dishonest and miss-leading Benalla ratepayer’s Mayor Claridge, help the overall Benalla people and not your ego - You have no Idea what is truly happening in Benalla.
It’s been over a year since Benalla was recognized as to be one of Victoria’s most disadvantage towns; what have you as Mayor done since to help improve the needs for Benalla people, you Mayor were obviously not in touch with Benalla’s people to be told by a distant organization that Benalla is seriously one of Victoria’s most disadvantaged towns; which councillors ignored till made public in National News.
Roman Kaminski
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