Pressure mounts on Cr Humphrey…
An article appeared in the Geelong Advertiser on Monday 16/10, titled “Planning Minister demands more… Nudist beach views”, by Lauren Pike (Click here to read). In the article, Cr Ron Humphrey plans to suggest that “a public meeting would settle once and for all the community’s stance on the issue and fulfil Mr Hull’s requirement [that the council undertake proper community consultation]“.
Who is Ron kidding? In this article, Ron stays true to form with a slightly naive view of what constitutes “due process”, his idea falling so far short of “proper community consultation” that it’s laughable in the extreme. Hoping to back himself up, he throws in the usual specious statements intended to be taken as fact at face value (anyone here get consulted since last October that the beach was under threat?? Hmmmm, didn’t think so…). But to top it off, he even goes on the attack against the Planning Minister, stating “what the community wanted was never taken into consideration when decisions were made”!!
Wow, that looks like 2 faux pas in a single breath - Not only has Cr Humphrey taken a shot at someone higher up the political food chain (which is always a bad look in Government, particularly if you had aspirations to work at levels higher than local council), but he’s also managed to make himself look short sighted and not representative of the Surf Coast Shire Community in general, suggesting that community views are not important in the political process - I wonder how many supporters Ron will have at the next round of Council elections with that kind of attitude???
The nudist community of Victoria calls for the Surf Coast Shire Council to reject any motions, ideas, suggestions or undertakings from Cr Humphrey, given his history of unsubstantiated emotive rhetoric, incomplete and innacurate research on the issues, and the fact that he got the Council into this mess to begin with. Instead, our community would appreciate being involved in reasonable and intelligent discussion about the issues that face not only the clothing optional beaches in the Surf Coast Shire, but also anti-social behaviour on beaches in general. After all, the only difference between Pt Impossible and Torquay is a pair of shorts!
Thanks to John Bartlett for representing the interests of the nudist community so well in his comments in the Geelong Advertiser article - Like John says, keep those letters rolling in to the Councils, they now have an obligation to hear us!!
(Oh, and for those of you reading this at Mornington Shire, feel free to commence community consultation about Sunnyside anytime - we’re watching closely, and look forward to your proactive invitation to the discussion table. The Mornington Shire has had the benefit of lower media attention than the Surf Coast Shire, but that is sure to change quickly as state interest in the issue grows).
