Support group probe wins support – Moorabool Shire council meeting briefs

MOORABOOL Shire Council will investigate the possibility of a support group for bereaved parents being established in the municipality, although it may not necessarily be officially involved.

But the Shire will consider allowing a group to be integrated into its maternal and child health services, along with provision of a council facility at no cost.

During a regular monthly meeting last week characterised by prolonged, combative and at time fractious debate, councillors voted six to three in favour of a notice of motion from Cr Sheila Freeman seeking a report on the Shire helping to set up a group.

Cr Freeman’s motion followed an approach to her and other female councillors from a Bacchus Marsh resident, who is a social worker and also a mother who has lost a child.

After Cr Freeman read the motion, Cr Tom Sullivan – who participated in the meeting online – said the issue of support for bereaved parents was a very sensitive one and he was not sure the Shire had the capability or the expertise to formally be involved.

Cr Sullivan also said he was concerned the council could be “cutting across” existing agencies that already delivered support.

Cr John Keogh, who seconded the motion, said he strongly supported it.

“She’s only asking for a report on the feasibility of a support group,” Cr Keogh said.

Cr Rod Ward said he was “somewhat surprised and disappointed that we’re debating this”.

“As Cr Freeman pointed out, we’re looking at the feasibility of establishing a support group,” Cr Ward said.

“Our role as councillors is to ensure we’re … protecting and servicing the best interests of our ratepayers, and people who are going through this and would have a need for this would consider this a very high priority.”

Cr Ward said he took on board Cr Sullivan’s comments but suggested that existing support groups or services would probably be “discovered” and highlighted in a report, adding that he thought it was “a wonderful initiative”.

At that point, Cr Sullivan interjected and said he did not need a lecture from a fellow councillor. Cr Ward did not respond.

Cr Paul Tatchell said he had not wanted to speak on the motion and it should probably have been considered in the meeting’s confidential session.

“I think you need to be really, really careful as a council when you take on any form of responsibility with regards to this matter,” he said.

“I think we need to be very, very careful how it’s discussed as well. When we’re asking to take a lead or get a report on a matter like this we need to be extraordinarily careful that we’re not punching above our weight limit.

“It’s not against the project; it’s not against the idea and it’s not against the goodwill of this, but we need to recognise that it’s extraordinarily complex.

“It is complex to the point where if we start to get involved in these things and there’s an expectation that we have expertise in this area, we also end up taking some form of responsibility.”

Cr Tatchell said he was not ready to vote on an issue like bereaved parents support.

“It’s not that I’m against it, it’s just that I have some serious concerns,” he said.

Cr Ally Munari said she was “a big one” for the council staying in its lane, and would have preferred the State Government to have approached the Shire about possibly providing a facility for a group.

Cr Munari said the issue sat clearly in the Government’s lane.

“So that’s why I can’t support this tonight, because I’ve been a stickler for staying in our lane … and I just feel this is too big for us, too big,” she said.

Cr Moira Berry said she had met the resident proposing the group but was “torn” about the motion, and a feasibility report would provide guidance on whether the Shire could do anything to support it.

Closing debate, Cr Freeman said the parent had told her there was minimal support available when one of her twins died.

“This motion is not about council stepping beyond its role, nor is it about committing scarce resources,” she said.

“It’s about whether we are willing to explore a low-cost, community-led response to a well-documented gap in support, guided by evidence, professional expertise and lived experience.

Cr Freeman argued that providing access to a council-owned facility like a meeting room would not be unreasonable.

When mayor Cr Steve Venditti-Taylor called for a vote, councillors Jarrod Bingham, Berry, Freeman, Ward and Keogh indicated support.

A vote against was not called for because those in favour outnumbered any votes against, but Cr Freeman called for a division.

Cr Venditti-Taylor stood with other councillors in favour while councillors Sullivan, Munari and Tatchell stood as voting against.

EV charging stations probe proceeds

Cr Keogh’s notice of motion to have officers prepare a business case on establishing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the municipality was adopted, again on a 6-3 vote and with a division called.

The motion called for a report detailing the feasibility, costs, delivery models and potential partnerships for setting up charging stations at strategic locations in the shire.

The motion said that with a growing uptake of EVs around Australia, installing charging stations would take advantage of an opportunity to benefit from more tourism, economic activity and regional connectivity.

The motion said no charging stations existed between Ballarat and Melton.

Speaking to his motion, Cr Keogh said: “Leaving right wing and left wing politics aside, there is irrefutable evidence that climate change is real.

“To adopt this notice of motion will flag to our community that we are serious about our environment.”

In the prolonged debate that followed, Cr Bingham said he supported one component of the motion but Cr Keogh “could have left the whole climate change debate out of it”.

Cr Bingham said he knew that the council several years ago had included as a permit condition the provision of EV charging stations for a service station on Gisborne Road, and asked community planning and development executive manager Henry Bezuidenhout what was happening with that.

Mr Bezuidenhout said the permit was issued in 2020 and required the developer to “provide capacity” for charging stations.

He said the due date was in March next year.

Cr Munari asked Cr Keogh if he had been given a report on the development when he lodged his notice of motion. Cr Keogh replied that he had not.

In a lengthy contribution to the debate, Cr Tatchell – a transport operator – said he knew of another transport operator who had been encouraged to switch to electric trucks and recharge them all at once at night.

“The only problem is we’d shut down Ballarat if he plugged his trucks in, let alone if he plugged a couple in the whole street would be blacked out,” Cr Tatchell said, arguing that insufficient infrastructure existed for such a headlong rush to powering transport with electricity.

“I mean, imagine turning up to the Birdsville pub in an electric car,” he said. “They’d say ‘we’re struggling to run the fridge, mate’.

“I agree we need some charging stations; I certainly won’t be going to electric trucks in a hurry because I don’t want to black out Ballan.

“But to be honest I think this is a waste of time, and it’s yet another notice of motion.”

Supporting the motion, Cr Freeman said it was “low risk and high value” and did not commit the Shire to supplying EV charging stations immediately.

“We are simply asking for a report that looks at feasibility, costs, delivery models and partnerships,” she said.

Cr Freeman said EV drivers routinely plan trips around the availability of charging stations, and supplying them close to the Ballan and Bacchus Marsh shopping precincts would encourage them to stop and shop while their vehicles recharged.

“This is about keeping visitors spending local, not letting it pass us by,” she said.

In further comments, Cr Bingham said a significant amount of time had been spent debating Cr Keogh’s motion when it could have been dealt with in one email.

“I really want to stay away from the climate change and carbon emission hypocrisy of EVs, but the reality is we do have EV cars in Australia and yes there is a need for EV chargers, but you don’t create EV chargers by saying how great an idea it is,” he said.

“How you do it is through the permit process, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

Cr Ward said the motion was not about climate change or the capacity of the electricity supply network.

“It’s not about Birdsville, it’s not about the viability of electric trucks,” he said.

“It’s about listening to our ratepayers and our businesses, because they’ve spoken to us and made their thoughts very clear.

“Our local businesses don’t want people to stop on the freeway at McDonald’s and charge their vehicle, they want them to stop in town and go and buy a coffee and have a look at our retail businesses.

“That has come out in (the preparation of) our retail strategy. This is what our ratepayers and our businesses are telling us they want.”

Cr Sullivan said he had “listened very carefully to the intelligent conversation that was bandied around the room”.

“When you prepare a business case it’s an inference that you’re in fact going to fund something,” he said.

“If (EV) growth is so great in this area why would councils be involved in setting things up?

“Surely there’d be enough demand by private investment to setting these things up.”

Cr Sullivan said he did not consider providing charging stations as a municipal council’s core business.

Closing debate, Cr Keogh said that preparing a report did not mean the Shire would definitely provide charging stations.

“All we want to do is see if there’s a business case for something like that to happen,” he said.

“If there’s a business case and we’re not going along with it I believe that we are missing a golden opportunity.”

In a division count, those who voted in favour were Crs Keogh, Munari, Berry, Freeman, Ward and Venditti-Taylor.

Crs Tatchell, Sullivan and Bingham voted against.

Intercultural committee probe gets the go-ahead

In a different notice of motion, Cr Ward was successful in seeking a report on the possibility of establishing an intercultural advisory committee.

Cr Ward based his motion on discussions he had with representatives of the Diwali festival in Bacchus Marsh after it was held last October.

His motion said the Indian population in Bacchus Marsh had tripled in the past five years and the percentage of shire residents born overseas grew to 14.2 per cent in 2025.

It said a further 11 per cent of the population arrived in Australia in the five years before 2021.

Cr Ward told councillors an advisory committee would support a range of community groups, and that other municipalities had them.

Crs Tatchell, Berry and Sullivan all spoke against the motion, generally because they did not see a need for such a committee.

In a division vote, those in favour were Crs Ward, Bingham, Freeman, Venditti-Taylor and Keogh.

Those against were Crs Berry, Sullivan, Tatchell and Munari.

More professional development help please

In yet another notice of motion, Cr Ward moved successfully that the State Government, Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA) be asked to provide more professional development opportunities for councillors.

Minister for Local Government Nick Staikos and Member for Eureka Michaela Settle will be among those to receive a letter.

The Shire’s delegates to the MAV will also be asked to raise the matter with that organisation.

Cr Ward said he had seen a “significant reduction” in training and professional development opportunities offered by the MAV and the VLGA during his five years as a councillor.

He said municipalities were now forced to hire specialists to conduct training and professional development.

“When I started you could log on for two or three hours and do an online development course on any given topic, and now there are very few topics available,” Cr Ward said.

He said securing more help from both bodies would free up council resources for use in other important areas.

Cr Ward’s motion was carried unanimously.