We need help. Cruelty to cats goes beyond any politics. Michelle Lehane suggests we all email Dan Andrews to ask him to intervene. Dan Andrews gave tenants the right to keep their cats saying 'It's the right thing to do.' Landlord Nicole Seymour has told residents that lifetime lockdown for cats 'is the right thing to do.' She pushed for this law for years, and it removes tenants rights for cats, and cat-owners, from having equality with dog-owners in Knox.
Please email Dan Andrews: daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au
Two Knox Councillors are Landlords, with personal interest. A third Councillor's unvaxxed status is being used to prevent public meetings until they finalise this law on the 28th of February.
Law-making is required to be transparent, to have community consultation, which Knox Council has denied, without integrity. Some of the six Councillors denying consultation, have indicated they will put through this law to 'educate' us (with more misinformation).
Knox Council will not accept our petitions. We need to defend Knox cats and community. Even if you do not like Dan Andrews, he loves cats. We need help. Council has not been listening, with some councillors bent on their personal interests. Please email: daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au.
Previous update:
Wording of the Order, Hiding Identities of Complainants, Animal Abuse
Our Lists of Defects are now on https://www.academia.edu/71778676/Knox_Council_Defects_in_24_hr_cat_curfew_report Please look at the wording of the law - the Order as written means a Knox cat is committing a crime if it sits in its front garden, or if it goes to a vet. The Order as written contravenes the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986.
On Monday February 28th 2022, Knox Council votes on the 2021-2025 Domestic Animal Management Plan containing the 24-hr-cat-curfew. This is the finalisation of the 24-hour-cat-curfew, the final chance Knox councillors have to care about the whole community, or to follow selfish interests and misinformation to hurt us. Please email, ring, Council CEO and councillors with our concerns before they vote.
Caging Cats, and owners, Is Cruel.
Knox Council has a record of animal abuse, look at the case of Mytzle: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/outer-east/cat-traps-that-led-to-mytzles-death-still-available-from-knox-council/news-story/a1b651d68ca6e97a2e3046ff2e3dd373
And the case of Izzy the dog, her owner fought hard and won Izzy’s life, which cost Knox over $600,000, though Knox sent Izzy to Queensland. ***
https://www.smh.com.au/national/high-court-told-dog-on-death-row-did-not-receive-fair-hearing-20150414-1ml2ou.html
How is Knox Council qualified to educate us?
By hiding identities of complainants*, a neighbour can make a cat complaint, engaging Knox Council to hound a cat-owner from their home and community with unaffordable fines, by forcing untenable living arrangements, and by removing cat-owners’ equal rights. Knox Council is dictating the deaths of cats, and cat-lovers being able to live well in Knox.
Knox Council plans to hold February’s cat-vote meeting online - preventing public presence and response. This meeting closure is actually due to one unvaccinated councillor - a proponent of the 24-hour-cat-curfew. The Government once said that the unvaccinated would be shut out of society. But in regards to meetings, Knox Council are shutting out the community to placate one unvaccinated Councillor who could easily attend the meeting via Zoom, so that the vaccinated community could attend - Michelle.
Watch for February’s Meeting Agenda (it is stated to be online five days before, but Council put January’s up only one business-day before the meeting.) https://www.knox.vic.gov.au/our-council/councillors-and-meetings/council-meetings/agenda-and-minutes/current-agendas-and-minutes February Live Meeting Stream 7pm http://webcast.knox.vic.gov.au/video.php
Knox Council believes it is untouchable, beyond any trustworthy watchdog.
Less than 20% of Knox registered cats are deemed ‘nuisance’, and cat complaints are 1/3 of the dog complaints in Knox. The over 80percent of homeless, impounded cats cannot pay, and the poorest owners and renters will bear the highest fines. Why make a law without evidence of efficacy for Council statements?
Following the money trail, shows only council coffers and landlords benefit. Dog and cat owners pay annual registrations, for which Knox dogs receive many returns, and this law removes all benefit for cat-owners - cat regos even pay for the yearly dog party Pets in the Park, not inclusive, and unsafe, for cats. In Knox, pooches go shopping, run free in 300plus parks, while pussies pay for imprisonment, punishment and put-downs.
If you are an affected resident, please join our Ombudsman case. It only takes an email, we need to show that this will hurt us. If you haven’t already, please do now.
Knox Residents - To join Ombudsman case C/21/19177 please email your individual authority to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman does not accept petitions. Please copy this sentence: I give authority for Knox AdvoCats to act on my behalf with regards to the complaint to the Victorian Ombudsman case no: C/21/19177 (adding your name, address Or suburb, postcode and email address, and phone number - two methods of contact are needed. With Case number C/21/19177 in the email subject line. Email to: complaints@ombudsman.vic.gov.au or Mail to: Victorian Ombudsman, Level 2, 570 Bourke St, Melbourne, Vic 3000 (add your signature on paper-post.)
Director Matt Kelleher: ‘Council is in the final stages of its 2021-2025 DAMP and I note, that as part of the community consultation process, Council has received a large number of submissions regarding concerns and opposition to the 24-hour-cat-curfew….Council plans to present this feedback … at its February Council Meeting. Whether or not a councillor owns a cat, does not exclude them from having the power to make a decision.’ The Mayor kept nodding throughout this reply. ‘Covid 19 temporary measures, of Local Government Act 2020, allows for council meetings to be held by electronic means. Any requirement that council meetings be open to the public is satisfied by live-streaming the meeting, or placing a recording of the meeting on the council website.’ January Meeting, Press 7. Public Question Time to go to exact place: http://webcast.knox.vic.gov.au/archive/video22-0131.php
Two landlord councillors hid their personal interest to make a law that overrides tenants’ rights for cats, removing cat-owners’ equality.
Some Knox councillors are acting for their personal interests, regardless of diversity, and hawking false ‘experts’, with no statistics, and denying community consultation.
Please can AdvoCats professional statisticians who can help with our case, contact morgan-shae@ihug.com.au or andysdixon@hotmail.com
Councillors Personal Interest: https://www.knox.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-10/Personal%20Interest%20Return%20-%20Public%20Summary%20-%20Returns%20to%2030%20Sep%202021.pdf
Two Councillors are Landlords. In March 2020 renters finally won the right to keep their pets. Landlords have to pay a fee and go to court, VCAT*, to refuse a pet. They cannot reasonably refuse a Pet Request - unless there is a municipality Local Law. This 24-hour-curfew removes cats from having the same rights as dogs, for tenants in Knox.
Councillors denied any community consultation on 24-hours, in June; and again in August 2021 to prevent a survey, costing less than ‘$10 each’ per registered cat-owner.
Some Councillors state bio-diversity is their aim, yet vote to give Developers permits to destroy habitat and neighbourhood character. Native animals and bird habitat are being decimated by overdevelopments. Power-brokers blame the voiceless, make incorrect statements, and pass laws for personal profit. Like wolves at the door, using a pandemic to prey.
Tenants Victoria, Pets: https://tenantsvic.org.au/advice/during-your-tenancy/pets-and-your-tenancy/
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews on why the Residential Tenancies Act was changed to recognise cats as family members:
2017: https://www.facebook.com/DanielAndrewsMP/photos/pets-are-part-of-my-familyand-no-family-should-have-to-give-away-their-littlest-/1548406938557170/
https://twitter.com/danielandrewsmp/status/927416865751568384
2020: https://m.facebook.com/DanielAndrewsMP/posts/2910057212392129?locale2=de_DE
27 Dec 2021 article on Pets in rentals https://www.realestate.com.au/news/pets-in-rentals-victoria-how-reform-has-fared-almost-two-years-on/
*VCAT is the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
*June 28th Cat Report 'recommending' the 24-hour-curfew, that will also hide complainants identities.
**On academia.edu with free account, our Ombudsman case documents can be accessed and downloaded (three sets of papers) https://www.academia.edu/52471373/24_hr_Cat_Curfew_Knox_Council_Trajectory_and_Formal_Complaint
https://www.academia.edu/71778676/Knox_Council_Defects_in_24_hr_cat_curfew_report
https://www.academia.edu/71778979/Knox_Council_Defects_in_making_24_hr_cat_curfew_Local_Govt_Act
*** Izzy the dog'soutcome: https://www.administrativelawmatters.com/blog/2015/07/02/its-a-dogs-life-isbester-v-knox-city-council-2015-hca-20/
Feel free to contact: morgan-shae@ihug.com.au
Please tell everyone. Keep in touch on Knox AdvoCats on Facebook. Cat Lives Matter!