This follows a call by local lawyer and resident Sue to an ABC 774 talkback segment with Mayor Alex Makin. Sue’s story was also published in last week’s TWiSK.
Yes, sad but true. After a year of intense discussion about community safety, homelessness and rising crime, the best Council could do was say ‘call someone who cares’. And then, too often, the agencies that are paid to care say you must contact another agency, and so on.
TWiSK is confident many readers will have faced the same deflection when trying to raise an issue or help a person in need – it’s a ‘dance’ craze sweeping bureaucracies at many levels.
Council resolves to build a ‘pathway’
Believe it or not, this resolution was passed unanimously on the most recent council meeting.
“3.6 Requests officers investigate how to improve reporting pathways and a streamlined contact point for residents and traders for community safety issues (that are not an emergency) in the City of Port Phillip. This investigation would explore how Council could provide advice to residents and support in the referral of issues to the relevant Council team, community service provider or government agency.”
TWiSK feels like sending this to the script writers from ABC TV’s Utopia.
In the meantime, we’ll look forward to reading the results of their investigation.
