We have made a decision, rather than posting all information twice, once on each blog, we will be using our other blog exclusively, from now on. If you click on the link, below, you will be redirected to the other blog.
Thank you
Hazeldene Community Action Group
April 19, 2010
April 18, 2010
Flowerdale Community House Grant Submission
Yesterday, while writing a letter, we had need to review the Flowerdale Community House Incorporated’s Job Fund Grant Submission document. During the course of reviewing this document, we happened across a statement related to the people of the Flowerdale Valley, which caused us to wonder whether the people who had written this statement had based it in fact or in supposition. When reading this statement, we were perplexed to find that our community had a high percentage of people working in agriculture, forestry, who were on welfare or who were unemployed. The statement was:
A variation of this statement, is used, on page 21, where the author(s) of the grant submission state:
In order to ascertain whether these statements were based in fact, we chose to spend the evening looking for data related to these statements. This led us on a very interesting journey, leading to one validated data source and, in doing so, posed some questions for consideration ...
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were employed in agriculture ?
Answer: In Hazeldene, it was reported that there was no one working in agriculture, but eleven people were working at the chook farm. In Flowerdale ? Well, the data collected by the 2006 Census indicates that there are not enough people living in Flowerdale to allow for individualised data to be extracted.
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were employed in forestry ?
Answer: In Hazeldene, it was reported that there was no one working in forestry. In Flowerdale ? Once again, Flowerdale is considered to small to allow individualised data to be extracted from the 2006 Census.
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were unemployed ?
Answer: In Hazeldene, it was reported that there were 15 people unemployed and actively looking for work from 366 respondents. In Flowerdale ... can’t say. Flowerdale is considered to be to small to be able to extract meaningful data from the 2006 Census.
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were dependent on welfare ?
Answer: There is no specific data with which this can be ascertained for either Hazeldene or Flowerdale ... and we looked.
It must be asked where the data used in this grant submission was obtained.
The Flowerdale Community House Incorporated’s Jobs Fund Grant Submission paints a picture of us as being from low socio-economic status households or on benefits, and looking for employment locally, milking cows, chopping trees down or planting potatoes.
This is so far from the truth.
The 2006 Census reports that over 55% of respondents, from the Hazeldene community, were employed either in manufacturing, construction, education and training, or retail, whilst the remaining 45% were employed in other areas, and that 36.4% of respondents completed some form of tertiary education, from trade qualifications through to Postgraduate Degrees. To us, this does not indicate that Hazeldene is a community waiting to be employed in the industries identified in the Grant Submission.
Oh, and in our travels, we found evidence of Hazeldene being categorised as a "large town". Unfortunately, we could not find evidence of Flowerdale being recognised or categorised as anything other than a locality ... but we'll leave this for another day ... Maybe it would form the basis of a worthwhile editorial on the "one town, one postcode" issue ? After all ...
This tragedy [Black Saturday bushfires] devastated a community that was already recognised by the Victorian Government as disadvantaged with a high proportion of residents in low skilled, low paid work in agriculture and forestry, unemployed or dependent on welfare. (Flowerdale Community House Incorporated Jobs Fund Grant Submission, 2009, page 8)
A variation of this statement, is used, on page 21, where the author(s) of the grant submission state:
Flowerdale was recognised as a disadvantaged community long before the current recession and the Black Saturday bushfires that devastated the area. ... The area is dependent on agriculture and forestry, both of which industries have been hit hard by falling commodity prices. The fires have also damaged these industries with the loss of trees, crops, livestock ... (Flowerdale Community House Incorporated Jobs Fund Grant Submission, 2009)
In order to ascertain whether these statements were based in fact, we chose to spend the evening looking for data related to these statements. This led us on a very interesting journey, leading to one validated data source and, in doing so, posed some questions for consideration ...
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were employed in agriculture ?
Answer: In Hazeldene, it was reported that there was no one working in agriculture, but eleven people were working at the chook farm. In Flowerdale ? Well, the data collected by the 2006 Census indicates that there are not enough people living in Flowerdale to allow for individualised data to be extracted.
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were employed in forestry ?
Answer: In Hazeldene, it was reported that there was no one working in forestry. In Flowerdale ? Once again, Flowerdale is considered to small to allow individualised data to be extracted from the 2006 Census.
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were unemployed ?
Answer: In Hazeldene, it was reported that there were 15 people unemployed and actively looking for work from 366 respondents. In Flowerdale ... can’t say. Flowerdale is considered to be to small to be able to extract meaningful data from the 2006 Census.
Question: What percentage of people, living in the Flowerdale Valley, that is in Flowerdale and Hazeldene, were dependent on welfare ?
Answer: There is no specific data with which this can be ascertained for either Hazeldene or Flowerdale ... and we looked.
It must be asked where the data used in this grant submission was obtained.
The Flowerdale Community House Incorporated’s Jobs Fund Grant Submission paints a picture of us as being from low socio-economic status households or on benefits, and looking for employment locally, milking cows, chopping trees down or planting potatoes.
This is so far from the truth.
The 2006 Census reports that over 55% of respondents, from the Hazeldene community, were employed either in manufacturing, construction, education and training, or retail, whilst the remaining 45% were employed in other areas, and that 36.4% of respondents completed some form of tertiary education, from trade qualifications through to Postgraduate Degrees. To us, this does not indicate that Hazeldene is a community waiting to be employed in the industries identified in the Grant Submission.
Oh, and in our travels, we found evidence of Hazeldene being categorised as a "large town". Unfortunately, we could not find evidence of Flowerdale being recognised or categorised as anything other than a locality ... but we'll leave this for another day ... Maybe it would form the basis of a worthwhile editorial on the "one town, one postcode" issue ? After all ...
April 17, 2010
Results of Polls
1. Should Hazeldene be allowed to have a say in how it is rebuilt after the Black Saturday Bushfires ?
Number of Respondents: 23
Voters responding "Yes": 96%
Voters responding "No": 4%
2. Where should the pergola, seats, barbecue and toilet, donated by the Altona Lion’s Club, go ?
This poll is being conducted on our other blog. When the poll has finished, the results will be published on both blogs.
3. Should Hazeldene have its name and postcode changed to "Flowerdale, 3717" ?
This poll is being conducted on our other blog, as well as here. When the poll has finished, the results will be published on both blogs.
4. Where should the Flowerdale Community House be built ?
This poll is being conducted on our other blog. When the poll has finished, the results will be published on both blogs.
Number of Respondents: 23
Voters responding "Yes": 96%
Voters responding "No": 4%
2. Where should the pergola, seats, barbecue and toilet, donated by the Altona Lion’s Club, go ?
This poll is being conducted on our other blog. When the poll has finished, the results will be published on both blogs.
3. Should Hazeldene have its name and postcode changed to "Flowerdale, 3717" ?
This poll is being conducted on our other blog, as well as here. When the poll has finished, the results will be published on both blogs.
4. Where should the Flowerdale Community House be built ?
This poll is being conducted on our other blog. When the poll has finished, the results will be published on both blogs.
April 15, 2010
Flowerdale Kindergarten AGM
One wonders why a single male would want to be a member of a Kindergarten Fundraising Committee ? Is it the need to be seen ? Is it the need to serve ? Is there another reason ? Maybe, just maybe it is because it is the only committee in the Flowerdale Valley that does not have someone from the Flowerdale Community Recovery Committee ("CRC") on it ?
Let's hypothesise for a moment ...
Now, if a CRC, with a closed membership, was to have at least one member of the CRC on the committee of every organisation within a community, would this mean that they just might consider themselves capable of making decisions autocratically ? Would this mean that they may not see the need to consult the community or consider what the community wants ? Would this mean that the CRC members, who belonged to the community organisations, could represent these organisations at CRC meetings without the need to involve anyone else from the community ?
One can only hope that this could not happen, but remember the questions that were asked at the beginning.
The only committee that does not have a member of the Flowerdale CRC sitting on it, in the Flowerdale Valley, is the Kindergarten Fundraising Committee and Peter Auty, a member of the Flowerdale CRC, is eager to become a committee member ... so eager, in fact, that he arrived at one meeting with two car loads of males, to vote him in as President. This meeting was the Annual General Meeting ("AGM"), which had to be rescheduled due to the unconstitutional manner in which Peter attempted to obtain this position.
The AGM has been re-scheduled to occur next week, on 20 April, and Peter has made it known that he "wants another go". Does Peter have a desire to be involved in cake bakes and lamington drives, or does he want "to do his bit" in ensuring total control by the Flowerdale CRC ?
Think about it and draw your own conclusions.
Oh, and whilst you are pondering this, consider that the Kindergarten Fundraising Committee AGM is the only AGM we can find evidence of being openly advertised on the Flowerdale Blogsite. Even though the Kindergarten committee has advertised it in the same manner as all other committees in the Flowerdale Valley, the CRC who control this blogsite, have seen fit to remind everyone that the AGM is on.
We know what we think ...
Let's hypothesise for a moment ...
Now, if a CRC, with a closed membership, was to have at least one member of the CRC on the committee of every organisation within a community, would this mean that they just might consider themselves capable of making decisions autocratically ? Would this mean that they may not see the need to consult the community or consider what the community wants ? Would this mean that the CRC members, who belonged to the community organisations, could represent these organisations at CRC meetings without the need to involve anyone else from the community ?
One can only hope that this could not happen, but remember the questions that were asked at the beginning.
The only committee that does not have a member of the Flowerdale CRC sitting on it, in the Flowerdale Valley, is the Kindergarten Fundraising Committee and Peter Auty, a member of the Flowerdale CRC, is eager to become a committee member ... so eager, in fact, that he arrived at one meeting with two car loads of males, to vote him in as President. This meeting was the Annual General Meeting ("AGM"), which had to be rescheduled due to the unconstitutional manner in which Peter attempted to obtain this position.
The AGM has been re-scheduled to occur next week, on 20 April, and Peter has made it known that he "wants another go". Does Peter have a desire to be involved in cake bakes and lamington drives, or does he want "to do his bit" in ensuring total control by the Flowerdale CRC ?
Think about it and draw your own conclusions.
Oh, and whilst you are pondering this, consider that the Kindergarten Fundraising Committee AGM is the only AGM we can find evidence of being openly advertised on the Flowerdale Blogsite. Even though the Kindergarten committee has advertised it in the same manner as all other committees in the Flowerdale Valley, the CRC who control this blogsite, have seen fit to remind everyone that the AGM is on.
We know what we think ...
April 07, 2010
Flowerdale Community House
This letter was sent to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority (VBRRA), the Mayor and Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Murrindindi Shire Council, and the Community House, today, on behalf of the Hazeldene Community Action Group, requesting a copy of the Flowerdale Community House Incorporated's successful "Jobs Fund" Grant Submission.
This letter follows on from the numerous attempts to obtain a copy of this grant submission, by persons from Federal, State and Local Government, from Government Departments, as well as by all members of the Hazeldene Community Action Group, all of which, to date, have been unsuccessful.
One must ask what it is that we are not being permitted to see. When something is being guarded so carefully and so closely, shouldn't questions be asked ?
FOLLOW-UP 09 April 2010
We have been contacted, this morning, by DEEWR. The person we spoke to indicated that permission to release the documents needed to be obtained from the organisation which submitted the Grant. With this in mind, he has spoken to John Burgess, who the spokesperson for DEEWR identified as the Project Manager for the Community House, and John has given permission for us to receive a copy of the Grant Submission. It is being posted out today.
(If you are unable to view this letter fully, please click on it and the letter will open in a new window)
One must ask what it is that we are not being permitted to see. When something is being guarded so carefully and so closely, shouldn't questions be asked ?
FOLLOW-UP 09 April 2010
We have been contacted, this morning, by DEEWR. The person we spoke to indicated that permission to release the documents needed to be obtained from the organisation which submitted the Grant. With this in mind, he has spoken to John Burgess, who the spokesperson for DEEWR identified as the Project Manager for the Community House, and John has given permission for us to receive a copy of the Grant Submission. It is being posted out today.
April 02, 2010
Youth Workshop in Flowerdale
Finally, we are seeing community consultation.
This flyer appeared on the Flowerdale - Survivor Spirit blog spot, on March 31st, before being buried underneath 17 other flyers and community announcements, posted on April 1st. This flyer, as a result, has been buried, in the March archives, within 24 hours of being posted, before anyone who relies on this blogspot to ascertain what is happening in the community could read it. It is for this reason that we are posting it, here, as it is imperative that the community attend and support our youth.
(If you are unable to see this flyer clearly, click on it and it will open in a new window)
The youth of Hazeldene and Flowerdale have made it known, through the Youth Leaders, that they want a BMX track, not a skate park as the Flowerdale CRC have decided is needed, so, if you live in Hazeldene and are a teenager or the parent of a teenager, please make sure that you attend and afford the youth of Hazeldene a voice or they may remain unheard.
FOLLOW UP 09 APRIL 2010
It is pleasing to see that rate payers have been sent a copy of this flyer, by Murrindindi Shire Council. We received ours today, postmarked 07 April 2010. Well done !
We will endeavor to be open and honest in our communications, so will report positives, similar to this, if the information relates to an area which we have posted about.
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