By Ruza Zivkusic
SUNSHINE Residents and Ratepayers Association member John Hedditch is calling on Brimbank City Council and the community to bury the hatchet and to move on.
Despite rumours, heated council meetings and endless debates about the Sunshine’s outdoor pool, the two parties needed to “draw a line in the sand” and heal their wounds in order to establish a good working relationship “because they needed each other in the end”, Mr Hedditch said.
“They may be sick of it but so are we. We’re sick of being ignored and not being listened to and council playing games with the community about the things it needs,” Mr Hedditch said.
“From where I’m sitting in the world I think the council’s relationship with the community is in crisis. Both parties are seeing each other in a bad light and unless that changes the next two years are going to be awful because people feel that they’re not being treated properly,” he said.
A third party was needed to intervene and start a mediation process, he added.
But he said that the community could not start the mediation process because neither party “trusted” the other.
He said the recent council’s attempt to pull the plug on the Sunshine swim and leisure project sparked “shock and anger” in the community.
Horseshoe Bend Ward Councillor Kathryn Eriksson said the gallery needed to respect the councillors during meetings.
“One of the faults with the human existence is that we tend not to move on but essentially we have to move on. This isn’t about one group, it’s not about one issue, it’s about a whole range of issues and about trying to do what’s the best for the community as a whole,” Cr Eriksson said.
She said it was up to council to decide how to control the attendees’ behaviour at council meeting.
“The gallery has become very ugly and nasty, we need to get back to a situation of control,” she said.
