It was the gold of Bendigo that helped make Melbourne marvellous in the 19th century, financing grand buildings including State Parliament in Spring Street. In those days there was ample wealth to share with Melbourne.
Come to 2019 and the State Government thinks it can easily rip money out of Bendigo again. Government officials at the dud GovHub “consultation” session on Saturday confirmed that the project builder Development Victoria is a government profit-making business that aims for between five and 20 per cent return on project cost.
That’s could easily be $18 million or more they are looking to take out of Bendigo, making local ratepayers and Victorian taxpayers victims in the inflated cost (more than $100 million says Bendigo’s self-appointed mathematics professor Jacinta Allen) for this project.
Another example of the State Government milking Bendigo for every cent it can while starving our city of funding for proper parking improvements, a ring road and every day maintenance of roads and upkeep of services.
And talking of government milking the cow, there was Cr James Williams milking the room at the “consultation session” with his beaming sugar-coated smile only outdone by Mayor Margaret O’Rourke.
Councillors and council staff and government officials jostled with concerned citizens when it came to the spread of cakes and slices on offer in the Town Hall. They may have thought it was a cheap lunch, but like everything with this dud GovHub, we’re paying through the nose.
In between milking the room and putting edible goodies on his plate, Cr Williams did come and say hello but true to form over the last four months, was not in the mood to answer our questions. As he said: “I might end up being quoted on your website.” There you go James – hate to disappoint - you’ve been quoted again for another non-answer!
If he thought we had loads of questions, Cr Williams and the Bendigo Bunch will be working up a real sweat as they review the concerns written on the little sticky notes placed on GovHub story boards in our Town Hall on Saturday.
The list keeps growing and afterward the thought came … GovHub partners are ploughing on with knocking down the city home that we the citizens own. There’s so much haste that they haven’t even performed soil tests and checked for mine shafts, the same haste they had in trying to snatch the Carter family farm at Marong until suddenly stopped in their tracks by community anger.
Perhaps the Bendigo Bunch is so eager to please their State Government masters in Spring Street, they’re just happy to lick up any drops of split milk after the bucket has been emptied in Melbourne.
This spilt milk worth is crying over. This is Bendigo and our future!
