WTF: Cat’s corflute complaint, forgotten ruins, confused constituent

An ex-Cat’s skipper has lashed out on social media over a bike-based political campaign from a pair of Surf Coast council candidates.

WTF

They’re the little – and sometimes not so little – things that can really irk us. We’ve asked the people of Geelong to point out the problems that irritate and exasperate and have us all saying, woah, that’s frustrating!

EX-CAT’S SKIPPER’S CRUSADE AGAINST VELOCIPEDAL CAMPAIGN

Ex-Geelong Cat Damian Bourke took aim on social media over a couple of campaign corflutes on wheels.

Ex-Geelong Cats captains can’t seem to help themselves from getting involved in this year’s council elections.

On Tuesday, the Addy reported Garry “Buddha” Hocking had endorsed Leopold candidate Shona McKeen.

Now Damian Bourke, who lead the Cats for three years in the late 1980s, is the second ex-skipper to get involved in municipal democracy. And he’s not happy.

Bourke lashed out on social media regarding Surf Coast council candidates Liz Pattison and Pheobe Crockett leaving corflute-laden bicycles at prominent locations around the Torquay ward.

Bourke is calling for parking fines to be issued, however, according to Victoria Legal Aid, that isn’t really a thing. Picture: Facebook

“It now appears we can advertise our businesses in local parks and … we don’t have to pay parking fines,” Mr Bourke said.

“Or do the rules only apply to us and not the mayor and local Surf Coast council candidates?”

According to Victoria Legal Aid, “you can park your bicycle anywhere as long as it’s safe and not in anyone’s way,” so it looks like Ms Pattison and Ms Crockett can breath a sigh of relief on that front.

Mr Bourke continued to say that the candidates were “placing advertising on public spaces, including parks” and “placing them on private land” without consent.

Current mayor Liz Pattison also has a corflute laden pushy. Picture: Facebook

While we’ll leave the intricacies to the Victorian Electoral Commission, we couldn’t find any rules against chucking posters on the back of your pushy.

Ms Crockett and Ms Pattison have both been advocating for safer bike lanes throughout their campaign, hence the velocipedal campaign strategy.

It’s worth adding Mr Bourke’s wife Rebecca is also running in Torquay ward.

I wonder what Danger has to say about all this.

FORGOTTEN RUINS FROM LONG AGO

The ancient ruins of Torquay – a broken drain on Geelong Rd. Picture: Shaun Viljoen

Ancient fallen stone ruins have always captured the public’s imagination. Think the Colosseum and Stonehenge.

Well, now the Surf Coast can join the party, care of a collapsed drain that has been in a state of disrepair for a very, very long time.

How long exactly? Well, the way some locals tell it, it may predate record keeping.

In truth it has been many, many months, perhaps more than a year.

A monument to what once was. Picture: Shaun Viljoen

The crushed and collapsed structure on the prominent corner of Geelong Rd and Spring St in Torquay is definitely not up to code when it comes to drainage. And it doesn’t look very safe.

It hasn’t been completely ignored, however, with someone erecting a bright orange safety barrier – also many months ago – which has served only to highlight the mess … and lack of action.

A palm frond lays atop the roadside tomb. Picture: Shaun Viljoen

That barrier has also since collapsed, adding to the eyesore. Someone may need to erect a barrier around the barrier. Anything but actually fix the problem it seems.

It all resembles a kind of civic tombstone, the final resting place of once-functional everyday infrastructure now consigned to the annals of history.

One local has even placed a palm frond atop it, perhaps as a tribute to the memory of the drain that was.

CONFUSED CONSTITUENT

Who should he vote for, Stretch or Jess?

This council election stuff is confusing.

Preferences, wards, the three R’s, back to basics – it’s a lot.

And it all got a lot more confusing for one concerned constituent.

“Over the past week I’ve been getting council stuff dropped in my mailbox,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Firstly I thought, ‘great, more rubbish,’ then I started reading the things.”

Much to his confusion, advertising for both Jess Harper and Stretch Kontelj had been dropped in the same letter box.

Why’s that weird? They’re standing in different wards.

Without doxing our poor, bewildered man, his house falls in Cheetham, just outside Kardina Ward.

It only started to make some sense when advertising for another Cheetham candidate, Melissa Cadwell, arrived in the mail.

And if you following the election through the mailbox is confusing, spare a thought for the Addy journos trying to cover it all.

Originally published as WTF: Cat’s corflute complaint, forgotten ruins, confused constituent