On the corner of Pt. Nepean Rd and Weir Street in Rye a local real estate agent has leased out his land to a slimy company who have set up a ‘Food Truck Park’. Five or so food trucks parked in a semi circle with some port-a-loos helping out the beachy aesthetics. By the way, most of the food trucks are multi national companies, so don’t go romanticising it into some kind of Favreau Cuban family food truck movie crap, instead think of those good ol’ tax dodgers Nando’s. (Allegedly tax dodgers. Don’t sue me Nando’s, I know you would) The tremendously socially retarded local council has given this the thumbs up, true to their form of rarely actually bothering to represent their own constituents in any useful or productive way. I can’t understand why the council has twenty seven thousand hoops they insist small businesses and home owners (including LOCAL food trucks whom I’ve nothing against at all) have to jump through to pass muster on putting up a sign or a garden shed, yet when the wealthy boys come to town they bend over and relax their pelvic floor muscle. Everyone in Rye would be well aware that pretty much every local business makes most of it’s annual income in the six weeks between boxing day and Australia Day. The rest of the year business owners tighten their belts (so hard it pinches) and try to survive until next December. Often moaning about how they wish they weren’t in a seasonal area, but staying all the same because after all, it’s home and they love it. They send their kids to Rye or Tootgarook primary, maybe Boneo or Rosy. They shop at the local supermarkets and put petrol in their car from the local servo. Some join Sea Shepherd or Rotary, pick up rubbish from the beach in winter while walking their dog, buy their coffee from the favourite coffee shop every morning. They join the local CFA and put their kids into nippers. But as far as money goes, everyone is waiting for the end of December. We can’t get a car park and a trip to Woolies takes two and a half hours, the fish and chip shop is packed and forget about turning right onto Pt Nepean road at all, but apart from a few angry surfers out St Andrews way, everyone’s cool with it because this is how we survive. Well, it used to be. Now our town’s representatives have decided for us that these food trucks from the city can come and park in our main street for six weeks, take everything and contribute nothing, then drive off to the next vulnerable town with a council weak enough like ours is to let them in. I looked at the Mornington Peninsula Shire mobile food van regulations and it seems to me that food trucks can only park opposite Napier street, and that they can’t operate with 50 metres of a comparable business, but maybe I’m just reading the words of the regulations which is silly. Silly old words! Anyway, obviously we’ll fight it. We have to unless we intend on committing small business suicide. It’s just a huge pain in the arse because it’s December today and we’re busy getting ready for the rush and so are all the other restaurants and cafes (quite optimistically I should say). But the greed and lack of local loyalty of certain individuals and the bumbling ineptitude of those we elect to protect us means that we have to spend more time and money doing it ourselves. Support local businesses (but only those that support local businesses, you comic sans c**t)
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 01:16:36 +0000
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