Rates blasted

Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan:
“Above all else I am most concerned about the impact of the rate rise on my ratepayers. It will severely impact on many homeowners.
“I urge Casey management to get on with the job of putting a business case to DSE. A business case is not a silly political letter but proper financially sound documents. I do note that the City of Casey has finally made contact with a former Treasury official who can help put together the business case.
“I believe the use of ratepayers money to run a public relations campaign is disgraceful and could be better spent on the many local sporting clubs looking for upgraded facilities who have spoken to me.
“I am ignoring the fact that it adds another 5 per cent to the rise, which is silly in the current circumstances.”
Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley:
“I strongly oppose the decision of the Casey Council to excessively increase rates. I also oppose the decision of the Casey Council, including two of its councillors who are Liberal Party State election candidates, to waste half a million dollars on a political campaign when they should get on with the job of helping the residents of Brookland Greens.
“Casey Council was responsible for operating the Stevensons Road Landfill and is responsible for its clean-up following the gas leak.I urge council to work with the Victorian Government and stop playing politics with an issue that is so important to the local community.
“I am diligently working through the appropriate channels to make sure that this burdensome rate increase does not go ahead.”
Cranbourne MP
Jude Perera:
“The movement of gas out of a landfill is a sign of very serious mismanagement. Casey’s failure to properly operate the landfill meant gas moved more than the buffer zone basically well beyond the buffer distance considered by VCAT. Casey’s focus on VCAT and the buffer distance is just another attempt to play politics and pass the blame. The real issue at the site was the mismanagement of the landfill by Casey, which resulted in the gas movement.
“Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) issued numerous regulatory notices to Casey to improve management of the landfill and address the gas movement, which Casey refused to comply with.
“At one point the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Casey made threats about the safety of EPA staff working on the issue.
“This is recorded in the Ombudsman’s report and he highlighted it again in the Upper House hearing on the issue.
“Also, the Ombudsman has pointed out that if Casey were unhappy with the VCAT decision they could have appealed to the Supreme Court of Victoria.
“Using the ratepayers of Casey and subsequently, the residents of Brookland Greens as a political football is quite a low blow.”