By Ethan Benedicto and Violet Li
The first council meeting for the City of Casey this year was adjourned after hundreds of angry and frustrated residents shouted and heckled, prompting a police call-out.
Casey’s ratepayers attended the meeting on Tuesday 18 February, to voice their concerns and opinions on the municipality’s private land use permits and the proposed Hampton Park waste transfer station.
Those concerns included the governance and transparency and the daily maintenance of the roads, parks, and other facilities.
Many of them came to listen to their submitted public questions being read and answered.
Tensions were high from the beginning, with the crowd booing the country acknowledgement and Casey’s diversity statement.
Mayor Koomen first addressed the issues of the private land permit use.
“I want to reassure the community that local law permits are common across Victorian councils and are not unique to Casey. They are only issued when it is absolutely necessary,” he said.
The speech was met with a strong crowd reaction, with many shouting “bulls**t”.
Mayor Koomen further addressed the recent online discussions and media coverage regarding a property in Hampton Park where several unregistered vehicles were removed.
The crowd’s emotion went higher, and one resident shouted: “Shut you f*****g mouth!”
“They own the vehicles!”
Mayor Koomen also addressed the concerns regarding the proposed Hampton Park waste transfer station.
“There are concerns regarding EPA’s community consultation process, which will determine whether a development licence is issued for this proposal. This process is currently ongoing,” he said.
“Since being elected mayor, I’ve written to the EPA to stress the importance of the EPA’s role in ensuring that the community has a chance to voice their concerns about the proposed location and the potential risks for community health and safety…
“As councilors, we look forward to participating in further meetings with residents and resident groups regarding the proposed waste transfer station over the coming weeks.
“We will continue to listen, to advocate, and to do what we can in our power to address resident concerns.”
About 63 public questions were read. Most were related to the council’s private land use permit and the proposed Hampton Park waste transfer station.
Interjections were common, with Mayor Koomen telling the crowd many times to respect the time of not just the councillors but also the residents present who submitted their questions.
Residents shouted, “respect us first”, in return.
He reminded everyone after severe uproars and interjections that, if need be, the meeting would be adjourned for a later time.
When questions on the private land use permits were read, residents were calling the council to change the policy.
“We don’t want to hear your policy. It’s not your backyard.”
“Are you guys just for the government or the people?”
“We must be heard!”
“Human rights are our rights!”
“Our property is ours, not f***** yours!”
There was also a strong call from the assembly for the councillors to answer their questions, despite not having submitted a formal registered question to be addressed during the meeting.
While the Mayor had made it clear that only submitted questions were being answered, residents continued to persist, with many exclaiming that they should not be ignored and that their questions should be addressed right there and then.
Quite a few residents in the front row, where the question submitters were seated, stood up after 63 questions being read and questioned where their questions and answers were. They claimed that they had submitted the questions, but their questions were not read and answered.
Mayor Koomen said in the meeting that all questions received that met the governance rules were responded to at the meeting today.
“The three questions that were not responded to will receive an email,” he said.
The meeting was first adjourned for 15 minutes after the public question times, and Victoria Police came out to escort the councillors and council officers out of the gallery.
The meeting was quickly adjourned again for the night after continuous disruptive shouting from the gallery during the council officers’ reports.
