Minutes of the meeting of the Kensington Association held on 7 December 2009 (the Christmas Party)

A group of happy members and distinguished guests, Hon Bronwyn Pike, Minister for Education and our local member, Davydd Griffiths, Ms Pike's staffer, and Jennifer Kanis Councillor of the City of Melbourne enjoyed our Christmas Party on Monday 7 December.

David Ettershank, Chair of the Kensington Association, made a short presentation to acknowledge the accomplishments of the Association during 2009 and to list the challenges ahead:

"First of all, thank you to the members of the Association who have made us strong during 2009, and to the both the outgoing Steering Committee that retired in August and to the new Committee.  Obviously, as Chair I cannot do my job without the continued support of my fellow Committee members, which has been given to me unstintingly.  Thank you to some special people who have assisted the Association, including Irvine Newton of Newton's Pharmacy for free photocopying over the years, to Sister Kerry for the use of Holy Rosary's staff room and school hall for various Association meetings, to Alice Good for redesign of our website, to Ann Hood for her work on the 'Welcome to Kensington' project and to the City of Melbourne for its continued support from its Community Resource Grants program that has enabled us to fund special projects over the years; and right here we have Glen McBride donating his DJ services free for tonight's function.  

"This year we have not had a spectacular dragon to slay, like the use of JJ Holland Park for the construction of the east-west road tunnel, the boundary splitting Kensington into two parts or the use of the Broadmeadows rail line for the proposed but still-born airport rail service.  Rather, we have been dealing with a range of smaller issues, many of which are still not resolved.  For example, we have strongly opposed Becton's proposal that they should get approval to erect 217 units on a site for which there is approval for only 60.

"We have enjoyed the benefits of the reunification of the former Moonee Valley section of Kensington back into the City of Melbourne, with many road and footpath improvements completed, in progress or planned.  JJ Holland Park is being continually improved, with plans for a new Venny, the completion of our own "KensingTan", a soon-to-be-installed synthetic all-weather playing field, extensive new grassed areas and improved lighting.

"Issues for 2010 include the Becton issue, the proposed rezoning of the Hobsons Road area, and a review of the land adjoining Moonee Ponds Creek.  We also note positive developments, including the burgeoning enrolments in our two primary schools, that not many years ago were wondering about their futures.  The State Government is investigating how to develop the Doutta Galla Community Health Centre, and we will be closely monitoring this to be sure that Kensington will be well served.  

"Finally, with 2010 being an election year, we need to consider what issues we should put to the contending parties as priorities for Kensington.

"Again, thank you to everyone who has assisted the Association this year.  You can count on us to pursue the mission of the Association into 2010:  To protect and enhance the amenity of Kensington on behalf of all residents.  And finally, from the Kensington Association we wish a happy and safe holiday period to all Kensington residents, traders and visitors."