Category: Uncategorized

COBURG’S CAR PARK PROBLEM

The heart of Coburg is clogged with car parks, and surgery is required.

Stand outside the Coburg Library (our fair-weather friend) and you can see the extent to which car parks dominate the area. Coburg is an increasingly popular suburb, however the Big Four Carparks (see diagram below) surrounding Victoria Mall are often underutilised, particularly the one outside Schoolhouse Studio (formally ‘the Second Coles’).

There have been a variety of plans for developing these car parks over the years, most recently, the Council’s Coburg 2020 Plan, which proposed a major overhaul of the car parks to facilitate new residential, retail and office buildings. This plan, which was presumably set to begin in 2020, has been unceremoniously dropped off the desk of the Council. It could be that COVID-19 triggered conservatism from prospective developers, or that the Council must honour historic arrangements over the space that may take an extraordinary effort to coordinate with developers, at potentially significant cost.

The Council owns 3 out of 4 of the large car parks. These areas were converted to car parks by charging retail and commercial properties in the surrounding buildings a levy. As part of the arrangement, the Council agreed to ensure that any future plans with the car parks would always result in the same amount of car park spaces being available closeby. So, if the 3 large car parks are removed, new parking options will need to spring up somewhere in the area. This presents a challenge for the Council in considering ways to utilise the land, and surely presents a barrier to enticing certain investors for whom car parks are less valuable to than retail space.

The big question, however, is whether the Council will sell the land instead of lease it.

Recently, the Council chose to sell a parcel of land that surrounded the Coburg Historical Society in Coburg, to a private corporation, the Coburg Health Hub Pty Ltd. This decision was divisive, with many commentators and some decision-makers resistant to the idea of selling any publicly owned land, as once public land is sold, it is very hard to get back.

Public land is valuable, because decisions with what to do with the land are reserved for (ideally) democratically elected representatives. Decision-makers in Victoria are also bound by the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006, which requires them to always consider public interest alongside any other considerations e.g. revenue raising. Having privately-owned land host public benefits is always precarious; private owners do not need to consider public benefit at all when they develop land (apart from indirectly, when they abide by planning and environment laws). For example, the Coburg Commons, a community garden, is being hosted in the otherwise empty space owned by the Uniting Church, opposite the Coburg Library. The Coburg Commons crucially brings greenery, public events and volunteering opportunities into the area. However, those running the Coburg Commons have commented that their arrangement is strictly temporary and precarious, as the Uniting Church expressly reserves its right to develop the site for other uses, such as building apartments.

Similarly, Schoolhouse Studio has a 5-year sublet with Coles, who itself has a 10 year lease with [name pending] Council over the site that sits in front of two of the four major carparks. Coles’ lease is due to end on 27 August 2026, which, in the scheme of plans for major development projects, is very soon.

It is important that we act early to keep public space from being sold to private developers. To begin with, we need to imagine what the community might want from the area instead of more office buildings, retail or private apartments. For example, public housing or a large park.

Or, something more ambitious.

Picture this: as you look towards Coburg Station, from Victoria Mall, you see a multipurpose performance space, running Some Like it Hot on Wednesday evenings. The monthly rooftop table-tennis tournament is in full swing, above the unknowing heads of cinema-goers inside. Community gardens run all the way up to the doors, which are rarely shut. On the walk over, you pass a number of small tables with chess, backgammon and crokinole being played by young and old. Cars enter an underground car park, in safe distance from the people practising yo-yo moves.

Thank god, you think, as you narrowly avoid the public art performers, for the Upfield Onion.

By BB

On 16 March, the countback concluded in the announcement that Shaun Minehan, independent, was successful. Minehan unexpectedly turned down the position however, due to a moving out of the locality. This lead to a second countback on 21 March that resulted in the success of Monica Harte, who accepted the position swiftly.

Harte has a long history of activism. She has fought for the preservation and improvement of public transport, for housing rights and for workers’ rights in the transport union. Harte ran for the November 2020 election as a candidate for the Sue Bolton Socialist Alliance Party.

This marks a significant shift in the [name pending] Council’s political composition, skewing it to the left. Unfortunately, Harte’s time on the Council may be limited with a VCAT hearing on foot deciding whether to order a re-election in the entire ward. This means that Harte may need to make a big splash if she wants to hold her spot in the North-West Ward.

By SAS & BB

March and April will provide ongoing opportunities for viewing the five brightest planets, sometimes simultaneously- providing you’re an early morning person. Throughout March, Mars and brilliant Venus can be seen high in the dawn skies, with Saturn below. For the first three weeks, Mercury will be there, too, descending daily to meet the fifth planet, Jupiter, ascending. On the 21^st  & 22^nd, these two will be separated by less than 2º, very low in the east. This is the only time to see all five planets together, before Mercury fades into the morning twilight; look from about 6:30 am. 

March 21^st is also the date of the autumn equinox. Dawn on the 29^th will present a striking triangle of Mars, Saturn and Venus, just above the almost-new Moon, with Jupiter just risen below. Although the evening sky is empty of planets, a compensation is the sight of the summer constellations in the west, disappearing now with the change of the season, and taking some of our brightest stars: Orion, the Hunter, with Betelguese and Rigel; Canis Major and Minor, the Large and Small Dogs, with Sirius and Procyon; Gemini, the Twins, with Castor and Pollux.

April mornings will continue the big planet show. On the 5^th & 6^th Mars will be within 0.5º of Saturn; close twins, almost, but Mars is slightly more orange. For a break from planet-gazing, try spotting a meteor from the Lyrid shower on the 22^nd or 23^rd. The most favourable time will be during the pre-dawn hours, looking north. The peak sighting rate can reach and exceed 18 per hour- although the peak may only last an hour or so.

Over all these weeks, the brightest lights in the night sky (apart from the Moon) will be Venus and Jupiter, and during April Venus will draw away from the other planets to approach Jupiter. According to the lore of the Boorong people of western Victoria, Chargee Gnowee (Venus), besides being sister to Gnowee (the Sun), is married to Ginabongbearp (Jupiter), chief of the ancient spirits. So perhaps it is appropriate that, as a culminating spectacle of this period, Venus and Jupiter will reign over the eastern morning sky on 30^th April, separated by only 1º- and by even less in the next dawn. A magnificent sight, visible from about 4 am, and lasting into the morning twilight (about 6:30)- not to be missed!

By Vlack

If Moreland’s electoral fraud fiasco wasn’t dramatic enough, Robert Richter, QC has been added to the mix.

To recap, in November 2020, the Moreland Council election results were brought into disrepute due to allegations of electoral fraud in the North-West ward. Irregularities were detected when a number of voters complained that they had not received their ballot papers.It was later alleged that a candidate had offered $500 for every 50 ballot papers.

In response to these concerns, the VEC made an application to VCAT within its strict 14 day time frame – as per the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic) – to contest the election results. Under this Act, VCAT has broad powers to resolve the matter in dispute, including declaring an election void or imposing financial penalties.

Incredibly, despite the VCAT matter being initiated in November 2020, the matter is still ongoing.

The VEC’s initial submission to VCAT was that the North-West ward results should be invalidated due to the suspected fraudulent ballot papers that were detected when counting was being undertaken. 17 candidates in the election have also been listed as additional parties to the proceedings.
The current complicating factor is that a criminal investigation is being conducted parallel to the VCAT matter. As such, the full-extent of the alleged fraud is largely unknown as the suspected fraudulent ballot papers are being held by Victoria Police.

The VEC has recently taken a backstep from its initial position, believing that, based on the evidence available, the fraud would not have been substantial enough to sway the results of the election.

On the other hand, North-West ward Councillors, Cnr Angelica Panopoulos, Cnr Helen Davidson and Cnr Oscar Yildiz have engaged barristers to bolster the position that an appropriate decision should still be arrived at by VCAT, and that the decision should be based on the full extent of available evidence. Submissions were made on this point at the latest hearing in August, with barristers for the aforementioned Councillors requesting that VCAT order Victoria Police to show evidence of the 83 suspect ballot papers.

Making submissions against this position is Cnr Milad El-Halabi, who has recently engaged Robert Richter. Richter is a high-profile, extremely expensive and oft-times controversial figure in the Australian legal landscape, well-known for his defence of Cardinal George Pell and most recently his defence of Witness K.

Richter argued at the August hearing that an order requesting those ballot papers be presented as evidence should not be granted, as any findings made by VCAT – which applies civil standards to its findings (‘on the balance of probabilities’) rather than criminal standards (‘beyond reasonable doubt’) – may jeopardise the ongoing criminal hearing.

In response to this concern are arguments about the sanctity of democracy. What is more in the public interest: one person facing custody, or a municipality having a democratically elected council? Given the high stakes of this electoral scandal (and Richter’s daily costs) we would imagine everyone is keen to have this over and done with.

By SAS & BB

The fate of the Coburg Historical Society’s (‘CHS’) museum and headquarters, the 1860s bluestone cottage complex, remains uncertain amid the proposed sell-off of the partially vacant block on which it stands. Although the cottage itself has a heritage listing, there is a concern that the CHS would get the boot if the building were to be used by the private company, Coburg Health Hub, for part of its planned health precinct.
CHS have been caretakers of the building since the 1980s. On top of general upkeep, the group have used the space to display the history of the stone cottage itself, which was built by Irish immigrant and Pentridge Prison warder James Smith, after his more flammable wooden cottage was burnt down. He purportedly believed his new stone house to be fire-proof.
Upon hearing news of the proposed sale of land, CHS created a petition which they brought to Moreland Council in August. Councillors voted (though not unanimously) to start a consultation process for the sell-off, with The Greens stating that their intention in the consultation process is to maintain ownership of the piece of land that the cottage is on.

According to the Council, Coburg Health Hub have ‘confirmed support’ for allowing CHS to maintain their position in the cottage, however it is unclear how that would look. In theory, CHS could become tenants of the Coburg Health Hub, which would mean less security in their position. Many are instead pushing for the section of land that the cottage is on to be excised from the sale of the land.

The plans for the health precinct include a range of clinics, both private and bulk-billed, as well as a childcare centre and private hospital.

Moreland Council claim to have ideally wanted a public hospital for the site, but say the State Government targets for the area would not have supported that decision, and that this was the next best thing in their view. Some locals argue however that a health hub is unnecessary given there are multiple health clinics, both public and private, in the area. This argument raises broader concerns about the Council selling public land where there is little, if any, public benefit.

Interestingly, Mayor Annalivia Carli Hannan has declared a conflict of interest and will not be able to vote on the sale. A final decision on the sale of the land is set to be made later this year in November.

By SAS & BB

Coburger, I know your face, I know it well. Many an evening have I debated with my wife as to what cuisine shall we be ‘indulging’ in this ‘week’. Inevitably I give the answer that is always at the front of my mind: Burgs.

Sometimes we don’t order burgers, sometimes we do, and when we do it’s almost always Coburger…Or Major Tom’s (but that’s a story for another day). The reason I introduce Coburger & Co like this is to establish to the audience that I really like Coburger & Co.

However, I’ve always known Coburger as the place to go to order what I call their ‘face slammers’. You know the type, no matter how wide you unhinge your jaw you only end up slamming your face into the side of the burger and closing your mouth, praying that you come away with enough to begin your strategic consumption.

For this review I decided to approach my order differently, so I wasn’t giving the classic review of the ‘Makin’ Bacon Duplex Burger’ and whatever their chicken/veg equivalent is, instead I ordered their Coburger with Cheese. No frills, no double ups, just their baseline burger (with onion rings). My theory being, you don’t buy a house* with shoddy foundations and you don’t buy a maxed-out burger without eating their cheeseburger.**

Their ‘Coburger with Cheese’ is bloody good. From the first bite you can tell that this patty is handmade and delicious. If I’m wrong, and a machine made this, then we need more of these loving and caring machines in this world. That’s a patty I can set my watch to, and the time would be juicy, well-seasoned and…girthy.

The rest of the burger ingredients act as the grand stage for the burger patty to perform. The lettuce brings a crunch, the unspecified cheese glues the brioche patty and lettuce together. The mustard, ketchup and ‘house sauce’ combine to create a punchy topping that is not so runny so as to make a mess on your hands and shirt that you JUST cleaned, but runny enough to warrant the last bite of your burger also acting as a mop.
The onion rings were also on point. They’re so crispy that it’s like you’re chowing down on the essence of crunch. I ordered the aioli to go alongside, which was yet another great choice on my part. Aioli is great. I don’t know what it is, but it’s great.

In conclusion, if I had to order from Coburger again I’d ask for any burger other than the Coburger with Cheese, for I have supped upon their foundations and am now prepared to eat the house.

By Matthew Boehm

*I’ve never bought a house
**Always buy the burger that looks to kill you financially and in a cardiovascular sense.

Coburger & CoCoburger Co
67 Moreland Rd, Coburg
9939 51789939 5178

PINK EMBER STUDIO

Pink Ember Studio is a queer-run co-operative, creating spaces for artists to make and sell work and be part of a community. Aoife Billings, one of the co-founders, set aside some time to talk to the Coburg Meddler.

CM: How did Pink Ember come about?
AB: We were all in a studio together in Brunswick. We knew of each other through that. But then one fateful day me and Aaron [Billings] were on the tram and started talking to Frances [Cannon] about our plans to get our own studio space. Frances got really enthusiastic and said we should all set up a queer-studio space. We put a call out on social media for people to get involved and Gemma [Flack], who Aaron knew, absolute angel, came onboard. Setting up a safe-space for us all was a really incredible experience.

When you all get excited about something, things start to happen. We learnt a lot very quickly. I think we went in fairly naively in the sense that we didn’t have the details worked out. It started as a studio space and a place to do workshops, as that was mine and Aaron’s main business before starting the space, but then we noticed that we had a lot of foot traffic, so we decided to turn it into a shop as well.

We’ve also received a lot of support from Arts Moreland. They’re a group of people who care about art and supporting local artists. So, when we started up they were very keen to help us out with grants and any questions we had.

CM: When you received grants from Arts Moreland, were there any restraints on your creative projects?
AB: No, they’ve been very supportive. We haven’t felt censored or like we need to run anything past them. I would say that we have a wholesome vibe, anyway. Lots of wholesome queers gravitate towards our space.

CM: How have you found Coburg? Are you getting much support from the locals?
AB: The majority of people coming into the store are locals. We get a lot of people saying that they are really excited to have us here. I think it’s because the building we’re in was vacant for a long time.

I mean, we’re aware that there were a couple of complaints about paintings depicting naked bodies that have been made, but other than that things have been fine.

I can’t describe how much I love Coburg. It’s not like other suburbs I’ve spent time in. You can tell that people here really value community. Along O’Hea St, you can see all of the baskets of food that people are leaving out for others, and the people sitting in their front yard are always keen to wave and smile. I love the community here.

CM: How have you been weathering the pandemic?
AB: It’s been challenging, like it has been for everyone. But Arts Moreland has been really supportive. We were also lucky, because our landlord halved the rent during the last lockdown, which we passed on to the artists renting space.

This lockdown has been a bit harder and we haven’t been able to get much rent relief, so we’ve had to ask for some donations from the community, and people have been very supportive.

CM: Anything you’d like the readers to know about?
AB: Get involved! We prioritse queer, POC, locals by offering for them to rent monthly studio spaces or run workshops. We’re really glad that a lot of the artists that are in the space are locals.

Outside of lockdown, Pink Ember regularly runs workshops.
In the past, they’ve put on things like embroidery and animation
classes (and one Halloween, they ran a spooky craft night).
Currently, Aoife Billings is running online ceramics classes for
beginners. She will help you make a teacup, teach you painting
techniques, and assist you with firing and glazing if you’re unable
to drop your teacup off to her in Coburg.

Prices for the classes include a material pack, postage fees, firing
and glazing.

Support your local artists and make yourself a good little cup.

Book online at https://aoifebillings.com/ or through https://www.
pinkemberstudio.com/

Is it ethical to compliment a friend solely to make her or him happy when it is not really what one thinks. Should we always tell exactly what is on our mind or is it better to keep our thoughts to ourselves to maintain friendships.

Regards
Daisy Sunflower

Good morning dear readers,
Meddling Mary here with some piping hot advice fresh out of the oven. Our first ever question comes from valued reader Daisy Sunflower!

Daisy has written in with an excellent two-parter question about the ethics of an empty compliment and if the truth is always the best medicine.

Specifically, Daisy asks if it is ethical to compliment a friend even if it is not how you really feel. Before deciding if it is ethical, let us talk about if it is necessary. Why are you feeling the need to offer a compliment that you do not mean? This author has certainly tried to fill dead air or ease an awkward encounter with a less than sincere ‘love your top, where did you get it?’ (and has never lost a wink of sleep about it). If you are feeling pressure to compliment your friends as a form of social lubricant, choosing something you truly value about them is better than making something up. But is it ethical? Strictly speaking, dishonesty amongst friends (unlike thieves) is best avoided wherever possible. A genuine ‘you
are really creative’ is better than a hollow ‘your macaroni art belongs in the national gallery’.

Turning our attention to part two of your question; should we say what is in our mind or zip our lips for the sake of relationships? This is one of those very simple and very complicated features of relationships. We are faced with two competing imperatives, honesty and preserving people’s feelings. When deciding whether to say what you think, it is useful to ask three questions: is this kind? is this true? is this necessary? If what you have to say is neither kind nor true, keep it to yourself. The same applies to comments that are true, but neither kind nor necessary. Where things get more difficult is if it is necessary to say something true even if it is not kind. In these instances, be brave and say what is necessary. This is specially true if what you need to say is about your wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. Open and honest communication can strengthen your
relationships, and, like most things, it gets easier with practice.

That being said, if your friend goes out of their way to cook you a dinner, smile and tell them it is delicious even if it is crap. Immanual Kant can
shove it.

And a Council of Gasbaggers

You may remember that Moreland City Council proudly declared a climate emergency in 2018 – one of the first Victorian Councils to do so. In their fossil fuel divestment strategy plan they state:

“Moreland City Council prides itself on being regarded as a leader and innovator in driving the transformation towards a sustainable society, and will continue to implement creative and innovative solutions to improve the sustainability performance of its operations including reducing carbon emissions associated with its own operations and using its influence to encourage others to take action.”

You might therefore be confused to learn that the Council is considering installing new gas heating for its swimming pools. It did so at Oak Park, and now appears to be considering it for Fawkner and Brunswick pools. Just to remind us (or maybe just our council), natural gas is made up of mostly methane, and burning it creates Co2. Moving all Moreland leisure centre sites off gas would reduce the Council carbon footprint by as much as 27 per cent.

Moreland Council has a policy of being carbon neutral, a feat achieved financially, meaning that all emissions by Council Operations at the end of each year are added up and carbon offset credits are purchased. If emissions are reduced, fewer offset credits need to be purchased, a saving to Council and ratepayers. Currently Moreland’s four aquatic centres are responsible for 89 per cent of the Council’s gas consumption, with Brunswick Baths being the worst at (31 per cent), followed by Oak Park (24 per cent); Fawkner (19 per cent); and Coburg Leisure Centre (15 per cent).

For a council that sees itself as climate conscious, it is lagging both nationally and internationally. In Victoria alone, there are 4 leisure centres about to be demolished and rebuilt without any gas. They are: St Albans Leisure Centre (Brimbank); Carnegie Swim Centre (Glen Eira); Northcote Aquatic Centre (Darebin); and Kensington Aquatic Centre (City of Melbourne).

An enquiry to Brimbank Council on the energy systems in the rebuild of the St Albans Leisure Centre elicited the following response from Neil Whiteside, the Director of Infrastructure and City Services:
“Council officers advise that the new Health and Wellbeing Hub has been designed to include the use of electric pumps. The use of electric pumps will allow the facility to deploy a 100 per cent renewable energy powered whole of facility heating and cooling system.”

It’s well known the majority of people want action on climate change and that means stopping the use of fossil fuels. So, you could be forgiven for wondering why gas is even being considered.

By Ian Mack