There has been some misinformation and defamatory accusations levelled at the Shire concerning, among other things, the Variety WA Bash in Merredin last weekend. I spoke to Councillor Brad Anderson (the main Shire point of contact for the Variety WA event) to get the full story. All of us at the Shire would now like to take this opportunity to set the record straight about the organisation of the visit. Councillor Brad Anderson was approached by a Merredin local whose friend was a participant in the Variety Bash, and they were deciding where to hold their end of trip awards dinner. Cr Anderson then made contact and met them for coffee to determine what they needed and what they expected to be provided with. The Variety WA contact said they needed a venue for their awards dinner, somewhere for breakfast, accommodation for all the participants and a mechanical workshop on standby if required. They expressly stated that they would pay their way and were not asking for, nor did they expect, anything for nothing, though any reductions or donations would be gratefully received. We told them what the fees would be, and they were perfectly happy with it, choosing to come to Merredin rather than the other towns they were considering. We charged Variety WA $929 for the hire of the Cummins Theatre and made a donation of $500. In total, that means that we received $429 from Variety WA. Not one of them chose to camp at the Recreation Centre but all, without exception, paid the full rate for accommodation in local commercial accommodation providers. We understand that they paid $75 per head (and there were approximately 100 Bashers) for their dinner tickets, and we believe that about $60 of this went to the Merredin Basketball Association and Merredin Netball Association (who organised the dinner). We are told by a member of the Netball Association that their members were required to donate food for the main meal, so most of the $6000-odd income from the Variety WA dinner was profit for the associations. The Men’s Shed then hosted breakfast and were able to keep costs low due to kind donations from SUPA IGA and Merredin Hot French Bread, but still charged a small fee for breakfast. We do not begrudge the community groups this income. We applaud their community spirit. However, we object to the public vilification and personal abuse levelled by inference at every Councillor and every person who works for the Shire from some individuals who consider it perfectly acceptable for one part of the community to accept $6000+, and not okay for the Shire to accept $429 to cover the costs of electricity, staffing, and cleaning after the event – and then consider that belief valid justification for personal attacks. The Variety Club Bashers were rapt with their stay in Merredin. They loved the venue, the town and the way everything was organised for them. Cr Anderson was told by some at the Men’s Shed breakfast that it was the best breakfast they’d had on their tour. They left town very, very happy. The decision to charge for venue hire and make a donation was made at the May Council meeting and was in both the agenda and the minutes for that meeting. The agenda and minutes are both made publicly available via both the Shire website and Facebook for anyone to scrutinise, and the monthly Council meetings are open to every member of the public to attend with an opportunity to have their opinion heard on any issue before a decision is made. If you are as unhappy with the decision as the Facebook thread would suggest, you are invited to speak to Brad directly on 0427 415 801. We also encourage you to attend the next meeting of Council and use Public Question Time to tell Council how you feel about their decision and get your displeasure on the official record.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 08:01:46 +0000
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