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OCTOBER 22, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
T U R N T O PA G E
12
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
Penola’s place in fashion Glamorous gowns and creative clothing designed by Penola Catholic College students hit the catwalk at the recent Fashion Awards Australia. The annual event was held in Hoppers Crossing and celebrated talented school and TAFE students, as well as new and emerging fashion designers. Penola Catholic College placed second in the John Claringbold Memorial School Cup, which is presented to the school which amasses the most points during the competition. The cup was won by St Albans Secondary College. Penola Catholic College visual arts and product design and technology teacher Hari Dimitriou said this year was the school’s most successful year at the awards. Year 9 student Joulia Youkhana won first prize in the year 9-10 recycled wearable art category, while Helena Badawi took out first place in the year 11-12 fantasy/costume category and Mikaela Skender secured first place in the year 11-12 long gown category. Ms Dimitriou said the students spent about 20 weeks creating their designs during lunch breaks and after hours. “They get the opportunity to showcase their work on a grand stage in front of friends, family and teachers,” she said. Designers Errick Kim, from Wollert, and Rita Lim, from Broadmeadows, also showcased a number of designs throughout the night.
The colour and style on show at the Fashion Awards Australia gala. (Pictures: Luke Hemer)
Laura Michell
Council bins complaints By Laura Michell More than 8000 complaints were made to Whittlesea council last year, the highest number of council complaints in the state, according to a new Victorian Ombudsman’s report. The ombudsman surveyed all local governments to determine how they define complaints and how many complaints they received in 2018. Five councils failed to provide complaints data to the ombudsman. Whittlesea topped the list of councils who
did report the number of complaints received in 2018, with 8259 complaints recorded. The ombudsman’s report noted that the majority of Whittlesea’s complaints related to missed bin collections. The council reported there were 7617 missed bin complaints between April 30, 2018 and December 31, 2018. Customer service inquiries about bins were transferred from the waste contractor to council’s customer service team on April 30, 2018. Whittlesea council partnerships, planning
and engagement director Liana Thompson said the ombudsman’s report was in response to a recommendation paper issued a few years ago about complaints handling. Ms Thompson said the council adopted all of the paper’s recommendations, while other councils only adopted some. “This means there is a variation in figures between councils as they all have different definitions of complaints and customer requests,” she said. “The reason the City of Whittlesea’s complaints are higher is that we have a broader
definition of complaint. Other councils classify a call for a missed bin, for example, as a customer service request but we classify it as a complaint. “We understand residents have high expectations of us to deliver quality and timely services and we strive to deliver.” Hume council reported 782 complaints during 2018. Communications, engagement and advocacy director Sue Haviland said complaints most commonly related to barking dogs, excessive noise from neighbours and litter bins requiring emptying.
st monica’s college, epping APPLICATIONS FOR YEAR 7, 2022 NOW OPEN Limited Places for Years 7 – 12 for 2020 and 2021 Contact College Registrar on 9409 8444 PH: 9409 8800 | W: www.stmonicas-epping.com | E: registrar@stmonicas-epping.com
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