Pool consultation gone asunder
Skip to menuThe Monash Journal has published an article (“Public faces longs wait over Oakleigh Pool options”, 09/10) stating that Council has postponed the promised consultation period concerning the future of Oakleigh pool from October until February.
It’s a great pity the Pool Committee didn’t think their job was important enough to consult with each other between the 8th August and their first meeting, on the 6th October. And it’s a huge shame that they didn’t consult with the Council officials who were working on options for the site to find out if they were meeting the October deadline. Perhaps if they had consulted together, they would now be in a position to consult with anxious Oakleigh residents.
The Oakleigh Pool Redevelopment Committee say it is important to consult. They say they must consult the “other 42,000 residents of Oakleigh”. It is as if supporters of the retention of a pool on a “pool site” have monopolised the debate so loudly that those who want a splash pad—or a 25-metre-pool on the site—have not had the opportunity to say so.
In related news, the State Government is putting two temporary pools in the Rod Laver Arena at the cost of $50 million as a temporary venue for the World Swimming Championships. These two pools will then be donated to two marginal seats—in this case, East Bentleigh and Frankston.
This amply demonstrates that the State Government is perfectly capable of assisting local councils—even with pool projects—when it has the will to.
