Just under a month ago, City of Greater Bendigo council (well six of the nine elected representatives) trotted out a well-scripted theatrical production and voted to sell the council-owned land and offices in Lyttleton Terrace to the State Government for a dud GovHub.
All this was done without consultation with the people of Bendigo, no accountability and no transparency on a decision that makes us renting tenant instead of landlord.
Residents and ratepayers were deprived of seeing public exhibition of plans to amend the planning scheme and of having their voice heard at a tribunal hearing.
This is what we were shut out of: AMENDMENT C252GBEN - Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme
The Amendment facilitates the Bendigo GovHub by allowing the use and development of land in accordance with the Bendigo GovHub Incorporated Document, November 2019 and makes the Minister for Planning responsible authority for land identified in the Specific Controls Overlay - Schedule 4.
And what’s worse, this was all happening when Bendigo people were demanding answers on the dud GovHub deal between council and the State Government.
Council and government were in such a rush to shut down scrutiny. Within hours of the ink setting on the official decision by council, the State Government had gazetted the planning amendment.
The Bendigo Alliance is nothing like the current council: we listen, we advocate for the best and want councillors who are more than rubber stamps for the State Government.
Join our next Virtual Town Hall meeting tomorrow night, Friday 12 June, at 7.30pm live on the facebook page Bendigo Reacts to GovHub.
