I read with dismay the City of Greater Geelong Council's bid to silence the Geelong Advertiser and associated editorial, on Saturday 24 April 2010.
In a nutshell, the Council has pulled its City News notices from the Geelong Advertiser because the Council does not like the adverse press coverage they have been receiving.
The Council has moved its adverts to the Independent newspapers including the Geelong News and the Bellarine Peninsula Independent. A radio ad on BayFM Saturday night confirmed this as well as the ads appearing in the Independent last week.
So what does this mean if you want to read the City of Greater Geelong Local News in Drysdale and Clifton Springs?
Answer - you have to get access to the Bellarine Peninsula Independent.
Here are some interesting statistics:
The Independent/Geelong News Readership advertised on BayFM Saturday is 92,000. Its free. In Drysdale it is available from Allpoints and Stockdale and Leggo Real Estate Agents, Drysdale Newsagency (they only get 15 copies) and WiseGuys Men's Hair stylists (and I have not seen it there for some time). It is not home delivered to a majority of residents (as far as I can tell).
The Geelong Advertiser (the Addy) claims to reach 75% of the Geelong population:
"The breakdown of the Geelong Advertiser’s circulation is diverse. It has a large urban population base, with strong regional circulation throughout Western Victoria, and the ever-growing coastal communities of the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula. Reaching more than 75% of all people in Geelong, the Geelong Advertiser is clearly the premier media for choice for the latest in local and global news, sport and entertainment."
The Addy costs $1.70 on a Saturday. It is available for purchase from Milkbars, Supermarkets, Newsagents, and can be home delivered.
I can never get the Independent, I rely on the second hand copy I get from my mother (she has to be quick to get it from the local real estate agent first thing Friday morning) - and I have to be quick to get it from her before it has made it into the recycling bin.
Many people I know don't read the local papers, but they do read the Geelong Addy.
The Geelong Council has a legal requirement to consult with its constituents and advertise those consultations. The Guide to Local Government states:
"Councils regularly conduct consultation with their communities and with people that are concerned with matters being considered by the council. This includes some forms of consultation that councils are required to undertake, by law, as well as forms of consultation that councils undertake because they want to make good decisions that take account of community interests.
Statutory consultation:
There are many decisions and activities of councils that by law can only be done after the council has conducted public consultation. Among other things, this includes decisions about the following matters:
- Setting councillor and mayoral allowances
- Adopting a council plan
- Making a local law
- Changing the council’s system of land valuations for council rates
- Adopting a budget
- Declaring a special rate or a special charge
- Selling, exchanging or leasing land
- Entering into a regional library agreement
- Deviating or discontinuing a road
The consultation required by law for these matters must include the following:
- The council must publish a public notice (in a local or daily newspaper, and on the council‘s internet website) that identifies the proposal and tells people that they have the right to make a written submission to the council...."
The Council by publishing its notices in the Independent, seems to think they have met the requirement of displaying notices in the local paper. Yes the Independent is a local paper and as previously stated it claims to have a circulation of 92,000 in the greater Geelong area. However, unless you are prepared to collect a copy from one of the four designated spots in the Drysdale Clifton Springs area, you don't get to read the Council notices.
The City of Greater Geelong has a population of 197,509 - as declared in the 2006 Census.
The population of Drysdale in the same census is 3,741 and Clifton Springs 7,054. The combined population for this area is 10,795.
I would suggest the population has grown since then.
The number of copies of the Independent available for collection from the bulk drop off points in the Drysdale Clifton Springs area would be in the vicinity of a few hundred - maybe? I do not know how many copies are home delivered - I can't find anyone who gets one. I know of someone who used to get it home delivered, but that does not happen anymore.
One could assume then, the bulk of the population within our local area is being deprived of reading the City of Greater Geelong local news - I would be happy to know this is not the case.
The pressure is on across the globe and also here in Australia for government to be more open and transparent. If local government is to become open and transparent, then they have to be able to take the heat when their constituents take issue with the way they spend ratepayer's money and the special charges they make for public works.
Questions need to be asked whether by moving its advertising to the Independent, the Geelong Council will reach most of its target population? I would suggest they will not.
What do you think?
This week's Bellarine Times has a page devoted to the Geelong Council Local News - seems like the Council is trying to broaden its reach after removing the notices from the Geelong Advertiser.
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