*** UPDATE AS AT 3RD MAY 2013 ***
Via “No McDonalds in the Dandenong Ranges Facebook Page”

Recent information shared with our Campaign has confirmed that there indeed is a rift between James Currie and the corporation he has devoted his working life to. Numerous internal sources have now confirmed that for many years James has been attempting to secure another store only to watch them go to other franchisees. It appears that the doomed ‘Tecoma Franchise’ has been forced upon him as part of a deal to secure the ‘Wantirna Franchise’.

The ‘Tecoma Franchise’ is best described as the ‘Poison Chalice’ of all franchises. Other potential franchisees have recognised this ‘Poison Chalice’ for what it is and have wisely chosen to pass the cup on. Sadly, desperate to expand after years of neglect from the McDonalds Corporation, James Currie has elected to grasp this ‘Chalice of Doom’.

We’re wondering if he has considered the full extent of how this poison will affect his reputation and imagined empire.

Already he is experiencing a little taste of what residents in the hills have to offer:

Daily protests at his Boronia store are rapidly gaining support and becoming louder every day. These actions have no projected end date and will be duplicated in Tecoma if required. A newly formed group ‘Tecoma Mums against Maccas’ (T-MAM) have already declared their commitment to protesting at Tecoma at both before and after school pick-ups to continue to educate the young minds in our community. Way to go ladies and thankyou for your support.

The Wantirna outlet is earmarked for some ‘Tecoma Love’ via a drive through action tomorrow night (Saturday 4th May). This store will be gaining more focus over the coming weeks with other actions currently under development, stay tuned for further information. Pledges received by residents in the Hills have given us a very clear indication that this will be a common protest action in Tecoma.

Boycotts already in place are being expanded to include all James Currie’s outlets. Fact sheets being distributed at these outlets are updating residents in our neighbouring suburbs. They too are joining the ‘Boycott Pledge’.

And this is just the beginning!!!

If James Currie thinks that we will quietly disperse if bulldozers roll into town he is in for one hell of a shock. The SMS alert system is gaining phone numbers by the hour and will unleash what will be the biggest PR disaster in McDonalds Australia’s history. The name that will be forever attached to this monumental disaster – ‘James Currie’. Anyone interested in being added to this alert should send their phone number to nomaccasinthehills@gmail.com.

We all know that James Currie has seen firsthand the pledges, the signatures, the videos, the photos, the petitions, the survey, etc. and still he has not responded to the community he declared he was “Looking forward to working with”.

By offering himself up as the ‘McDonalds Tecoma franchisee’ James Currie is exposing ALL his franchises to ongoing protest actions.

Howard Armitage must be finding it difficult to hide the relief he is feeling since disassociating himself with this ‘inappropriate development’. No doubt he is also has his business managers plotting forward projections of increased profits as he picks up the trade that will now avoid Wantirna and Boronia in support of the people of Tecoma.

Protests targetting James Currie’s stores

Protest Everday at Boronia 4.30PM-6PM
Show Wantirna some love – Saturday May 4th 6.30PM

Protestors at James Currie’s Boronia store

Other News: McDonalds erects temporary fences around the old Hazelvale Dairy – 2nd May

On May 2nd, the day after the owners of Saffron Cottage handed in the keys to the building at the end of their lease, McDonald’s sent workers to the site to board up the old dairy that Hippie Haven and Saffron Cottage operated from. Fences were erected around the buildings. McDonald’s are preparing to bulldoze these buildings, destroying a much loved part of Tecoma’s history and replacing it with their ugly, unwanted 24 hour drive through monstrosity.This makes it even more important to show James Currie and McDonalds, te, that should they go ahead and build we will not let their job be easy.

26th April 2013 – Press Release

The Hills community have finally forced a meeting with McDonald’s management after an extremely successful PR campaign brought global attention on the troubled Tecoma project. A representative team of six delegates met with McDonald’s management at a city location early this week in an attempt to articulate the community’s overwhelming rejection of the planned store.

“The Tecoma project is undoubtedly the most contentious development ever for McDonalds’ Australian operation. It is our belief that this is the first time McDonald’s have met face to face with a protest group. We used the opportunity to show our strength and resolve in having this development stopped as per the community’s wishes” said No McDonald’s in the Dandenong Ranges’ spokesperson Garry Muratore.

The meeting was first requested immediately after October’s VCAT ruling, since then the community campaign has gone viral with the group’s members now in the thousands across the hills and many more from around Australia and internationally.

“We told McDonald’s of our unshakeable sense of community with our members being represented in almost every community organisation in the hills. The Dandenongs has one of the highest volunteer participation rates in the country, so the opposition to the Tecoma store grows via osmosis as our members go about their community responsibilities” said Muratore

On the Sunday prior to the meeting the No McDonald’s In The Dandenong Ranges group organised yet another community meeting at the Primary School that is opposite the site. The meeting like most of the group’s recent events was well supported with several hundreds packing into the school hall for a Q & A session with the community delegates. The crowd also heard an update on the proposed demolition from Cr. Samantha Dunn as well as an update on the enormously successful PR campaign from the group’s campaign team.

“The world is watching Tecoma” the crowd was told to deafening cheers “ McDonald’s ain’t seen nothing yet”.

The meeting was also used to create hundreds of “community pledges” telling McDonald’s what each individual was prepared to do if the Tecoma development went ahead. These pledges were gathered and presented to McDonald’s at the city meeting.

“McDonald’s were told in no uncertain terms that the community will not back down. 9 out of 10 people in Tecoma don’t want this and we finally had the opportunity to present the unquestionable data to them in person” said Muratore. “We are a technology connected community and can have hundreds of people to the site on a minute’s notice. To go ahead with Tecoma would no doubt be a PR disaster for McDonald’s. They now know that Tecoma is “the little town that roared” and the opportunity for McDonald’s to respect the wishes of the community and back out would be welcomed by the entire hills community”

The group has also called on McDonald’s CEO Catriona Noble to meet with the Hills elected representatives. “If thousands across the hills and millions around the world can’t get the CEO to engage then maybe if she hears it from all levels of government, local, state and federal she will realise that Tecoma is a problem that McDonald’s need not have” said Muratore.

The group is was also buoyed by comments from Planning Minister Matthew Guy on talkback radio saying “Tecoma is one that VCAT got wrong”. Mr.Guy too has indicated in meetings he would be happy to meet with McDonald’s CEO if it could be arranged.