Signs of bureaucratic breakdown

THE lack of transparency and accountability in the public service has reached epidemic proportions.

Interminable delays with completing the Cape to Cape Resilience Project, supposed to address erosion issues at Inverloch, and the Distinctive Areas and Landscapes (DAL) review of the Bass Coast Shire Council’s planning scheme are cases in point, both holding up vital work.

The inability of Parks Victoria to reopen the underground tours at Wonthaggi’s State Coal Mine before the busy holiday season, despite receiving a $1.5 million grant for the purpose last July, is just one of the examples that we know about because of public action and some level of transparency.

They haven’t even been able to reopen the café to date.

But it’s unfair to single out Parks Vic though because it is a seriously underfunded service without the manpower or funding to manage its extensive responsibilities.

But there are many, many more necessary works and services that has been delayed, shelved or buried due to the malaise and waste in the public service and a lack of transparency and accountability in government.

The Commonwealth Games, Victoria’s Big Build, the cost and mistakes made in the pandemic response… it’s frightening what’s going on in government at the moment and you can add local government into that as well.

It seemed like a small thing before there were six drownings on Bass Coast beaches in 13 days this month, but the failure by various government agencies to address the recommendations in the ‘Bass

Coast Shire Coastal Risk Assessment’ report, as part of the Surf Life Saving Australia Beach Drowning Black Spot Reduction Program, are now in sharp focus.

Among other things (and we don’t know it all because agencies including Life Saving Victoria, the Bass Coast Shire, Parks Vic and PINP have refused to release the report in full) the report strongly recommends a shire-wide uniform signage strategy at our beaches and a commitment to a systematic monitoring and review process.

Signs aren’t everything, and as pointed out by readers of the Sentinel-Times on social media at the weekend, they aren’t specifically to blame for the drownings but, despite what people say, clear and effective signs do work…

No dogs, don’t walk on the grass, no entry, no parking; most people do read these signs and comply.

A sign that says: “Do not swim here, people have drowned” would have far more impact than the present messages, including the “Strong Currents” warning at Kilcunda Beach which may mean nothing at all to the inexperienced visitor.

And it’s an absolute disgrace to say the victims of these drownings should take responsibility for their own actions – they simply don’t know what they don’t know about the dangers that exist.

While taking immediate action to address the weak messaging and poor state of our beach warning signs is vital, it’s more important for government to engage with the community on all these things with more transparency and accountability.

Let this be the hallmark of the new Bass Coast regime under its new CEO Greg Box.