A new Macedon Ranges council policy has left the future of one local Anzac Day event in doubt and forced the organisers of another to turn to benefactors for funding.
During the July 23 council meeting, it was revealed that funding requests for Anzac Day events in Malmsbury and Kyneton Anzac Day were rejected by council because of their connection with the Kyneton RSL.
Council said the gaming machines at Kyneton RSL created a conflict with its gambling harm minimisation policy.
The Anzac Day services are auspiced through the Kyneton RSL, however both services do not receive funding from the RSL’s gaming machines.
The organisers of both services applied to council’s Anzac Day Commemorative Services Support Fund grant, which is designed to assist community groups with expenses associated with traffic management control.
A recent state government ruling requires traffic management plans for Anzac Day events to be designed and conducted by qualified personnel, instead of volunteers or local emergency services.
Malmsbury Anzac Day service organiser Bill Bates said council’s decision was disgraceful.
“I’m still shell-shocked at how the bureaucrats of Macedon Ranges Shire Council could allow two towns within their own shire to not be able to conduct a march on Anzac Day,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for two lovely benefactors from Bendigo who have now stepped in and paid for my traffic control management, our ceremony was in serious jeopardy of not going ahead.”
Mr Bates said the couple donated $2500.
Kyneton RSL president Mike Gretton said he would have to look internally for the $4300 needed to close the road for the Kyneton march.
“We felt there should’ve been a separation between our commercial operations, which includes the gaming machines, and commemorations,” he said.
“The RSL doesn’t own Anzac Day … there should be no connection between the fact we are a gaming venue in Kyneton and the commemorations such as Anzac Day that we conduct on behalf of the community and our veterans.”
Council apologised to the organisers of both services, saying it never intended to cause any unnecessary stress through the grant process and regretted that the organisers have felt this way
It also reopened the grant for a further 10 days and both groups were encouraged to reapply for the grant.
Mr Gretton said Kyneton RSL would reapply, however Malmsbury won’t.
Mr Bates said he hoped council would come to a “common sense solution” next year.
