They say you can’t fight City Hall, but Geelong businessman Michael King is taking on all comers in his bid for a seat on the city’s next council.
Usually regarded as a particularly mild-mannered chap, Mr King’s taken off the gloves to give some of the city’s biggest lobbying groups a whack in the coffers over their dependence on the public purse.
State Government and Geelong’s council should turn off the tap on Committee for Geelong and G21, he says, reckoning that governmental “corporate sponsorship” fails the pub test.
For a wealthy undertaker who would generally be regarded as someone from the big end of town, his policy, or strategy, would seem a sure-fire way of losing friends in high places.
At the very least, the stoush should add more than a little spice to the council election process, so pass the popcorn and settle in for the show!
Then again, maybe Mr King’s on the wrong track.
Perhaps – viva la difference – Geelong should instead celebrate its bizarro world of lobbyists.
After all, the committee and G21 each drag in hundreds of thousands of public dollars each year – the reverse of the traditional arrangement by which lobbies fork out in the other direction through donations to political parties.
Surely there’s a tourist attraction in there somewhere – Geelong: come for the waterfront, stay for the publicly funded lobbyists.
Or maybe not!
Meanwhile, what’s with all the automotive-based action in Geelong at the moment?
First 13CABS announces it’s muscling in on the local market, then takeaway delivery outfit Deliveroo arrives flogging the services of its drivers for online orders.
All this on the alleged eve of the self-driving car!
Just like the looming council elections, the clash of the various four-wheeled interests should make interesting spectator sport over the next few years.
Buckle up for the ride!
A rather fashionable-looking alleged thief could vie for title ‘Geelong’s Most Wanted’ after police posted her image on Facebook this week.
There she was, all blonde tresses and swinging handbag as she casually sashayed past an in-store surveillance camera at the scene of the alleged crime in East Geelong last month.
“Police wish to speak with the female … as she will be able to assist in the investigation,” the Facebook post added, seeking tip-offs from the public.
Maybe the police should cut to the chase and stake out Myer.
With all the political, business and criminal intrigue this week, at least the ladies of Geelong Day VIEW Club were sticking with the basics.
The members made good on a request from the kinder kiddies at Northern Bay College for a little help keeping their noggins cosy this rather chilly winter.
The ladies “rose to the challenge and got busy with their knitting needles” to fit out the kids with bonza beanies, explains Yvonne Edward.
“The teachers said they wouldn’t take them off their heads and were so excited to show their parents when they came to collect them.”
So it’s a case of warm heads – and even warmer hearts!
