Council Watch Victoria Inc

08/10/2025

Busy day in the Supreme Court of Victoria today.

Suspended City of Whittlesea former Mayor Aidan McLindon was in court for a directions hearing in his action against Minister for LG Nick Staikos MP. Aidan is taking big Nick on over his suspension.

&

Former Cardinia Shire Council Cr Stephanie Davies was there for a hearing in relation to a Judicial review she has lodged against her former Council in relation to a suburb naming decision.

Strap in and grab the popcorn. 🍿🍿🍿

08/10/2025

🔥 KINGSTON’S BEACH SAUNA SCANDAL? 🔥
💦☀️ From Woman of the Year to the centre of a foreshore fiasco!

When Amy Salisbury was crowned Kingston Woman of the Year 2024, it was all smiles and champagne 🥂. A respected mental health advocate and community dynamo, she’d earned her stripes through her work with MordiSea Dipper 🌊.

But the story takes a steamy twist...

In 2023, Amy launched SeaSoul Sauna — a luxe wellness hub on Mordialloc Beach. Think $49.50 for a 90-minute communal sweat 💰 or $297 for private bliss. The problem? 🤔 The Council thought it was intended as a "fundraising" trial.

Here’s where it gets murky 🌫️:
🏖️ The sauna sits on Crown land — public land managed by Council.
⛵ It’s subleased from the Mordialloc Sailing Club, which already enjoys a bargain lease of under $3,000 a year from Council.
💸 SeaSoul reportedly pays just $1,000 + outgoings — for 11 months. A licence to print money or a real community benefit for all?

Community benefit cannot be established by paid sessions and usually must be open for all not just those who can afford it.

Normally, community land use goes through a public tender or expression of interest. ✅
In this case — that never happened ❌ becuase it was done as a sublease from an existing council leased operator. (The Sailing club)

And then there’s the politics 🧨…
👩‍💼 The Woman of the Year award? Pushed by then-Mayor Cr Jenna Davey-Burns, a friend of Amy’s. Not in any way illegal but doesn't at all pass any pub test.
(Council Watch has seen evidence of this).
⚠️ No conflict declared. Councillors claim they didn’t even know of the friendship when they voted and would have potentially voted differently had they known.

It gets worse: DEECA — the real land authority — never approved the sublease based on accurate information. It is alleged the Sailing Club represented to Council and DEECA that they were running the trial project on the beach to "fundraise" for the club. A very serious representation that unlocked community goodwill.

The Council has since discovered staff may have been directed to approve it by a Councillor (allegedly Jenna Davey). If true, that’s potentially serious misconduct under the Local Government Act ⚖️. The Council must and should release any information publicly on this matter.

Council has now moved to end the lease in December, offering Amy help to relocate — but Labor-aligned councillors are reportedly trying to strong-arm a new 5-year deal through a motion by Cr Tess Law 💢. Why?

Because word is they are keen to stitch up and embarass Labor Mayor Georgina Oxley who they allegedly claim "betrayed" other Labor Councillors to get the mayoralty. The petty games of revenge are so childish and Amy is caught in the middle.

Let’s be clear 👇
Council Watch makes no allegation against Amy herself — she’s caught in a web of Council failure and political spin 🕸️.

But ratepayers deserve transparency. 🌊
Public land isn’t a playground for councillors or their mates. It isn't a place to allow any commercial enterprise under the claim of community benefit.

Council needs to take back the foreshore and clean house 🧹.

Start again and with an open and public process that is fair for all.

Enough of the beachside backroom deals. 🏖️💼
💥

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/petition-organised-to-urge-kingston-council-to-stop-mordiallocs-seasoul-sauna-from-being-shut-down/news-story/fb5c967fc029b88ee267403d257d0f83

City of Kingston

07/10/2025

🧠 “WORKSAFE” TO BE RENAMED — BECAUSE WORK IS TRIGGERING 😱

THIS POST IS INTENDED AS SATIRE

🚫💼➡️💤 “Woke Victoria” or just “SAFE”? The future is trauma-informed branding!

Fresh off her time as CEO at Merri-bek (formerly Moreland — renamed after a $500 K consultation and a deep dive into colonial naming trauma), new WorkSafe chief Cathy Henderson has made her first bold move: rename WorkSafe.

Because let’s be honest — both “Work” and “Safe” are problematic words.

💥 “Work” may trigger past employment anxieties and repressed memories of being expected to show up on time.
💥 “Safe” could be triggering for those who don’t feel safe in today’s ever-changing world.

Hence, the leading rename option is… “SAFE” itself — because everyone deserves to just feel safe, without the pressure of productivity looming in the name.

Other rumoured contenders include:

Woke Victoria – “Where feelings matter more than fact.”

Rest Assured Agency – “Because you’ve done enough, sweetheart.”

Do Not Disturb Department – “For those on an indefinite mental health sabbatical.”

🧘‍♀️ The $1 million rebranding process will include a 12-week mindfulness program, a trauma-aware logo workshop, and a focus group on how the colour orange makes people feel.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Cathy Henderson was also behind the “symbolic renaming” of Moreland to Merri-bek — a gesture that cost a fortune and did nothing to fix rates, roads, or rubbish.

👏 Council Watch applauds the continued trend of bureaucratic self-therapy masquerading as leadership.
Next up: rename the entire state to “Vibeoria.”

07/10/2025

🔥 MAYORALTY OR TAKING THE P**S? 🔥
💰💼👑

Let’s talk about the “top job” in local government — the Mayoralty.

Most Victorians would assume a Mayor pulling in around $100K–$140K a year (plus a car!) would be, you know… actually working. You’d expect them in the office, visible in the community, and leading the council they’re paid handsomely to represent.

❌ But there’s ZERO transparency on what Mayors actually do for that money.

✅ Sure, many mayors work their butts off — endless meetings, public events, citizenship ceremonies, and community engagements.
🙌 Those ones deserve credit.

But then there are the others… the ones who:
🚫 Rarely show up to council offices
📞 Are never available online or by phone
💼 Still work their full-time day job while pocketing the mayoral allowance
🎭 And treat the role as a glorified photo-op.

Let’s be blunt: the Mayoralty has become a political prize, not a position of service.
Councillors cut deals, form factions, and sometimes bully their way into the chain of office. And once they’ve got it — it’s ka-ching! for not much.

There are no policies, no performance measures, and no minimum hours for a Mayor or Deputy Mayor (who still gets around $70K!).

🧾 The result? A taxpayer-funded free ride for the lazy and disengaged.

And here’s the kicker — even State Government Ministers must now publish their diaries and disclose who they meet with.
Yet your local Mayor — earning well into six figures — can operate in total secrecy. No diary. No transparency. No accountability.

💬 Council Watch says: Enough.
The State Government must fix this — set clear expectations, KPIs, and transparency rules so ratepayers know exactly what they’re paying for. Make Mayors and deputies publish their diaries like MPs do.

Because right now, in some councils, the Mayoralty is nothing more than a junket of ratepayer money for “not much.” 💸🤡

07/10/2025

🔥 COLLUSION EXPOSED: Bendigo’s $19 Million Showgrounds Scandal 💥🐎💰

What a bombshell 💣 — the FOI papers don’t lie, but it seems the City of Greater Bendigo and the Allan Government did.

👀 Here’s what the documents reveal:
👉 Council promised “deep and extensive consultation” with community groups… then delivered two workshops and a SurveyMonkey with 21 responses.
👉 Regional Development Victoria — instead of holding council accountable — coached them on how to fudge reports to make it look like they’d done the work.
👉 The Planning Minister signed off in 48 hours ⏰ after “consultation” closed — ignoring major concerns about arena size, safety, and lost events.
👉 The Premier stood at a press conference smiling, while locals were misled about who ran the show — literally.

💬 Locals, equestrian clubs, dog groups, and community organisers were sidelined, lied to, and ignored.
This wasn’t consultation — it was collusion, plain and simple. 🤝🚨

💣 The truth: taxpayer money was misused, public trust was shattered, and the so-called “master plan” was a bureaucratic stitch-up.

⚖️ This demands more than spin — it demands an IBAC investigation.
Ratepayers deserve honesty, not backroom deals and cover-ups. 🕵️‍♀️



City of Greater Bendigo
Jacinta Allan

DOCUMENTS released under Freedom of Information have revealed that contrary to statements made to ratepayers and the media, the City of Greater Bendigo was fully responsible for the Bendigo Showgrounds Master Plan Project and had told the government it would undertake a significantly greater level o...

07/10/2025

🚨 Community Housing or Corporate Cash Grab? 🚨

A shocking ABC investigation has uncovered that a charity linked to a $206 M Greensborough “affordable housing” tower is actually controlled by for-profit investment firm Tetris Capital — which manages $3.7 B in assets 💰

🤯 This so-called “community housing” provider has no website, shares directors with Tetris Capital, and yet somehow got fast-tracked approval and access to hundreds of millions in taxpayer funding.

🏗️ The 17-storey tower was approved by the Victorian Planning Minister under a “fast-track” scheme — bypassing normal planning checks and ignoring local concerns, including 137 missing car parks 🚗

Experts warn this is a policy disaster in the making — where “charity” fronts are being used as vehicles for profit, while government oversight lags far behind.

💬 Even Greens and Liberals agree: there’s zero clarity on what happens after 25 years — will these homes stay affordable, or be quietly sold off?

👉 Councils and the State Government need to do better.
Community housing must serve the community — not become another playground for corporate profiteers. 🏠💔

A Victorian housing charity awarded more than $200 million in taxpayer funds for a proposed 17-storey tower is controlled by a for-profit investment firm, the ABC can reveal.

07/10/2025

⚡️🚗 MERRI-BEK’S LATEST “INNOVATION”: THE ELECTRIC BOOM OF MADNESS! 🤡🔌

Ohhh honey, you can’t make this stuff up — Merri-bek Council has literally decided to hang charging cables over footpaths like Christmas decorations and call it “innovation.” 🎄⚡️ Yes, boom-mounted chargers are here — the new “solution” to a “growing car problem.”

Let’s take a breath and admire this production, darlings. Twenty lucky residents (that’s right — 20 out of 180,000 people) are getting a metal pole in their front yard that swings out over the footpath like a mechanical praying mantis, so they can plug in their Tesla without tripping a pedestrian. 🦾🚶‍♀️

Meanwhile, the council gushes about “innovation,” “safety,” and “sustainability” — buzzwords they sprinkle like glitter over every half-baked project. ✨ The mayor even declared this a “game-changer.” Game-changer for who? The hardware store? The insurance companies? Or the ratepayers funding this circus? 🎪💰

Let’s call it what it is: Merri-bek’s boom of buffoonery.

Because instead of fixing potholes, cleaning drains, or doing, you know, council work — they’re busy installing $3,000 driveway arms for people without driveways. It’s like watching The Jetsons if it were directed by Yes Minister. 🛠️🪄

Imagine being a resident trying to walk your dog, only to have a metal pole swing over your head because your neighbour’s Nissan Leaf needs a top-up. 😂🐕⚡️ “Don’t worry love, it’s sustainable!”

And let’s not forget the conditions: must own your property, no heritage overlay, no off-street parking… so basically, a trial for the most specific 0.01% of the population possible. Inclusivity, Merri-bek style! 🏘️💅

Meanwhile, the rest of the state is staring at its crumbling roads and thinking:
“Wait, are these people for real?” 🤔

But it’s so on brand, isn’t it? Merri-bek was the first council to install a public charger back in 2013 — and ever since, they’ve been addicted to announcing the next shiny eco-project like a magpie on Red Bull. 🐦💚

So here we are, watching councils dangle extension cords from poles and pat themselves on the back for “saving the planet.”

The question writes itself:
👉 Have our councils completely lost the plot?

Comment below, ratepayers! Should councils stick to bins, roads and rates — or keep auditioning for the next episode of “My Electric Obsession: Council Edition”? ⚡️😂

Merri-bek City Council

07/10/2025

🌏💪 Finally — climate action with brains, not banners! 🙌🔥

Mornington Peninsula Councillors have voted to scrap the old Climate Emergency Declaration and create a new Climate Resilience Plan — and honestly, it’s a breath of fresh air. 💨👏

Gone are the days of sensationalism, grandstanding and activist theatrics from a few former councillors and their loud affiliates. 🚫✊ The new direction is about logic, facts, and outcomes — not politics, protests, or panic. 🧠📊

This plan will focus on what actually works: making communities stronger, protecting homes, and ensuring climate decisions make financial and practical sense. 🏡🌱💵

It’s a reset towards evidence-based leadership — where climate action is measured, realistic, and driven by results, not slogans. 🙏

Finally, common sense is back in the room! 👏💚



Mornington Peninsula Shire

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have voted for the shire’s CEO, Mark Stoermer, to prepare and present a “Climate Resilience Plan” to council, replacing the Climate Emergency Declaration and the Climate Action Plan that they scrapped in April. The shire’s previous Climate Action Plan w...

07/10/2025

🚨ANONYMOUS EMAIL ROCKS GREATER DANDENONG COUNCIL🚨

Council Watch has reviewed an anonymous email sent to all City of Greater Dandenong. It makes serious allegations about the internal culture of the organisation — including claims of:

⚠️ Staff being excluded from key decision-making and “chaotic restructures” undermining morale.
⚠️ Excessive use of external consultants while internal capability is ignored.
⚠️ Favouritism and inequitable salary banding, where some staff with professional qualifications are allegedly paid less than others with limited or unrelated experience.
⚠️ A leadership culture described as divided, unaccountable and dismissive of staff input.

These allegations are unverified and unsubstantiated, but their level of detail is deeply concerning. They point to potential systemic governance and HR issues that cannot be brushed aside or internally managed by the same executives mentioned.

💥 Council Watch is calling on councillors to immediately commission an external and independent investigation — separate from the CEO and executive team — to establish the facts and restore community confidence.

Anonymous letters should never replace transparent processes, but when they emerge with this much detail, they signal that trust inside the organisation has broken down.

✅ Councillors must act decisively and transparently.
✅ Ratepayers deserve assurance that governance is sound and staff concerns are handled with integrity.

Council Watch will monitor this closely.

There continues to be a growing culture crisis in our councils that is needing to be addressed.

06/10/2025

🏙️ “Bring Back the Buzz, Nick!” – Lord Mayor Must Urgently Confront Allan on WFH Disaster 💼☕️

Melbourne’s heart is still beating — but it’s faint. Businesses in the CBD are begging for oxygen, and that oxygen is workers. Yet instead of reviving the city, Premier Jacinta Allan is pushing a law that could make working from home a permanent right — a move many say will kill off the city’s recovery and crush small businesses already on life support.

Now is the moment for Lord Mayor Nick Reece to step up. Melbourne’s fate depends on it. 🏃‍♂️💨

💣 A Policy Nobody Asked For
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Committee for Melbourne have slammed the Allan government’s proposed “right to work from home” law as “unnecessary, harmful, and out of step.”

Their survey of 700+ businesses shows:
3 in 4 already offer flexible work
63% have formal WFH policies
77% require at least three days in the office

In short — businesses have it handled. As VCCI CEO Sally Curtain put it:

“There is no problem that needs fixing. We’ve got this.”

🏙️ Melbourne’s CBD: A Ghost Town in Waiting
A Property Council report shows 1 in 5 CBD offices have sat empty for over 12 months. Café owners like Alex Lopez, who’s run five city cafes, say the foot traffic collapse has made survival “impossible.”
“We pay premium rent for no customers. We don’t get support from the government. We’re hit with taxes from all sides,” Lopez said.
He’s now selling his businesses — a symbol of what’s at stake for every laneway café, bar, and boutique that gives Melbourne its magic. ☕💔

🚨 Nick Reece: The City Needs You Now
Nick Reece has spoken about cleaning up empty buildings — but the real clean-up job is filling them again with workers. Melbourne’s economy, vibrancy, and safety depend on it.

⚡️ Time for Action
If Jacinta Allan’s WFH law passes, Melbourne’s CBD won’t just be quiet — it’ll be dead silent.
Lord Mayor Reece must lead from the front — not from home. 🏢➡️💪
Melbourne thrives when its people do — together, in the city.

City of Melbourne

Victorian businesses have slammed the state government’s proposal to legislate a mandatory right to work from home, calling it unnecessary, harmful, and out of step from workplace realities.

06/10/2025

⚠️ “FOR THE KIDS” – THE COUNCIL’S FAVOURITE POLITICAL WEAPON 🎒⚽️🗳️

When councillors say “it’s for the kids,” what they really mean is “it’s for our votes.”

Make no mistake — City of Monash’s shiny $14.7 million redevelopment of Jack Edwards Reserve in Oakleigh is not just about sport. It’s about optics. 💡 The kind that win elections. The kind where your children become props in a taxpayer-funded PR stunt.

The new grandstand, changerooms and lights are being sold as a “home for the next generation” — but let’s be blunt: this is a political playground built on ratepayers’ wallets. 🎭

Councillors have learned the oldest trick in politics — wrap your campaign in kids’ jerseys, line up the smiling juniors for a photo op, and suddenly, no one can question the spend. After all, who would dare oppose something “for the children”? 🙄

🎪 STAGE-MANAGED COMPASSION

Every quote in the announcement reads like a pre-election leaflet. The Mayor’s talk of “young people and families deserving a home for their passion” 🎤 isn’t policy — it’s pandering. Emotional manipulation disguised as community building.

They know exactly what they’re doing. Kids melt resistance. Kids make headlines. Kids make voters feel guilty for asking, “Wait — where’s this money coming from?” 💰

🏟️ A POLITICAL STADIUM, NOT A COMMUNITY ONE

Let’s call it what it is — a photo factory for politicians. A grandstand for self-congratulation.

Every stage of the project — the design unveil, the sod turning, the ribbon cutting — will be another camera moment for councillors desperate to look like community champions. 🎥

Meanwhile, smaller parks crumble, local halls close, and grassroots groups get crumbs. The millions flow to one site — one club — one headline. Because nothing says “re-election” like standing next to a kid in a uniform holding a football. 🏈

👧🏽 THE “GIRLS’ FOOTBALL” SHIELD

They’ve even learned to weaponise inclusion. “Investment in women’s and girls’ football” 💅🏽 sounds progressive — and no one dares challenge it — but let’s be honest: it’s a political shield, not a social policy.

Where’s the equivalent spend for girls’ arts programs, youth mentoring, or mental health? Oh, right — those don’t make for glossy photos with politicians kicking balls on pristine turf.

🧠 RATEPAYERS NEED TO WAKE UP

This isn’t about kids. It’s about councillors exploiting the symbol of kids to make you feel good while they spend millions unchecked.

Ask yourself:

How many kids will actually benefit?

Who gets access to these “community” facilities?

How many will be shut out because their club isn’t politically favoured?

What youth programs were cut to fund this showpiece?

🚨 THE VERDICT

This isn’t investment — it’s appropriation. Councillors are borrowing your kids’ faces, your money, and your trust to polish their own image.

The truth? They don’t build for kids. They build on them — for campaign collateral.

So next time a councillor says “it’s for the kids,” remember: it’s really for the cameras. 📸
And your rate notice is footing the bill. 💸

https://www.ocjfc.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17HXr7ijPZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/10/2025

💥 Merri-Bek’s Toxic Mess: How Did This Happen Under Cathy Henderson? 💀

Shockwaves are rippling through Merri-bek City Council after revelations that council workers were exposed to “extremely dangerous” toxic sludge during the leadership of former CEO Cathy Henderson — who has just been appointed WorkSafe Victoria’s new chief. 😳

🧪 Sludge, Syringes & Silence
Under Henderson’s tenure (2019–2025), street sweepers reportedly dumped waste, chemicals, syringes, and even dead animals in a yard at the council’s Hadfield depot. Workers say they were told to shovel the sludge by hand, despite internal warnings about the health risks.
Former Health & Safety Adviser Peter Carroll said he commissioned independent lab tests which found toxic substances unsafe for human exposure. When he tried to escalate the findings? “I just got crickets,” he said. 🦗

Multiple staff allegedly fell ill — one nearly died from bacterial pneumonia, another contracted E. coli. Yet the council insists the sludge didn’t cause the sickness and that the issues were “managed appropriately”. No WorkCover claims were lodged.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/worksafe-chief-cathy-henderson-faces-merribek-toxic-sludge-claim/news-story/f29fc20405d3f4681069a8526321c411

The Australian Services Union (ASU), representing affected employees, blasted the situation, saying Henderson “presided over a culture of unsafe work” and that complaints were repeatedly ignored. The union has since referred the case to WorkSafe — the very body Henderson now leads. 🤯

Anger is mounting over the Allan government’s appointment of new WorkSafe chief Cathy Henderson amid allegations council workers were exposed to and injured by life-threatening bacteria under her leadership.