A flood of emails from hundreds of Dandenong Ranges residents has been the response to McDonald’s refusal to meet Matthew Guy, the Victorian Planning Minister. Mr. Guy wants to discuss his concerns with the looming construction at Tecoma of McDonald’s first outlet in the Dandenong Ranges.

A social media campaign on Sunday resulted in over 400 emails awaiting McDonald’s Aust. CEO Catriona Noble on Monday morning, all asking her to meet Mr. Guy.

“This operation shouldn’t have been necessary, but was only brought about because of the refusal of McDonald’s to meet the minister” said campaigner Garry Muratore. “For over a week Ms. Noble refused to take our calls or reply to emails requesting her to meet Mr. Guy, so we had to send a strong message that McDonald’s arrogance does not go unnoticed.”

The email to Ms. Noble was also copied to senior McDonald’s executives in the USA, as well as to No Maccas In The Hills so that this group could keep count of what was sent. Organiser Karl Williams declared “Within a hour we had mobilized almost 100 people to send emails then 400 by Monday morning and they’re still flooding in. For an organization that paints itself as a good corporate citizen, McDonald’s really needs to know how its bullying behaviour has outraged so many people. If this doesn’t evoke a proper response, then all McDonald’s claims of “extensive community consultation” seem rather empty.”

The group has vowed to keep up the pressure on McDonald’s. “We’re aware of how McDonald’s mail server diverts emails from disgruntled citizens like us, so we gave instructions on how to sidestep the server. McDonald’s can expect more complaints from an even wider audience if it continues to behave in the same manner” said Mr. Muratore.

Following Friday’s eviction of protesters from the proposed Tecoma McDonald’s site, residents have responded immediately with a reoccupation. Taking advantage of an open side entrance, over 60 local residents met again at the community garden and playground that had been built on the site.

“There is no problem that cannot be better solved with a good cup of tea” was the old dictum followed by residents, and so a grand Devonshire Tea party was the means of determining the next step in resisting a totally inappropriate 24/7 fast food outlet in the Dandenong Ranges.

“Bolstered by the wave of sympathetic media coverage in the last 2 days, hundreds of new supporters have joined our social media campaign to influence McDonald’s not to build an outlet in one of Melbourne’s most beautiful panoramic settings” said community campaigner Karl Williams.

Mr. Williams continued, “While we did have a number of grounds to appeal to the Supreme Court the VCAT decision that ruled in favour of McDonald’s, neither the council nor residents were prepared to put up the half million dollars required to take on McDonald’s. But we’ll side-step these corporate bully-boy tactics and instead turn this into a public relations disaster for McDonald’s.”

A highlight of the tea party was the fastening of the People’s Padlock on the security gates to the site, symbolic of the retaking by the community of the land. Local resident Emily Hehir summed it up as, “As local residents overwhelming opposed to McDonald’s, we feel it’s our right to have a say in what impacts our home. Our democratically-elected local council has been overridden by an unelected VCAT tribunal which has given no weight to the volume of objections in its decision.”

When police arrived 3 hours into the tea party, occupants were asked to leave and duly complied. But a range of other actions are planned, and this week community members are meeting with Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy to discuss community concerns. Mr. Guy has also expressed his concern with the legal process and how VCAT ignores the weight of community opinion in its planning judgments.

High Tea in the Garden – Sunday 11th November