Nick Greiner's way forward for the Liberal party

eCouncillor attended the dinner celebrating the 20th anniversary of the election of the Greiner government last Friday night and witnessed the former premier deliver a magnificent and historical speech on the state of the Liberal party today and the way forward. Part of that speech published in the SMH on Saturday is reproduced below. I fully support Nick's thesis that the nature of politics in the community has permanently changed. It has been emerging for two decades that the community no longer identifies with the great ideological struggles of left versus right. A giant middle ground of Australians now seek a synthesis of ideas, aspirations and understanding from political parties - and the Liberal party with its traditional base of conservatives and liberals is in a position to meet that new era politics - if it reforms around Australia.

Time to stir up the wooden spoon state

Nick GreinerMarch 15, 2008

NSW is a national laughing stock. In the 1980s it was corruption that made NSW a laughing stock. This decade the state is a national laughing stock for everything. NSW is in the political and bureaucratic wilderness in terms of talent. The state deserves a wooden spoon for, among other things, economic performance, infrastructure, health and planning.

If the Liberals are to win government at the next NSW election, the changes must start at home. We need to change the dysfunctional organisational structure of the party as a first step to changing behaviour, to enable the kind of positive decisions that win elections. We must become a genuine broad church able to take the middle ground of politics.
There is some denial regarding the performance of the Liberals in NSW. The party has faced a Labor Government that has gone from fair, to poor, to simply hopeless - the worst ever. The Government has failed on integrity and effectiveness. Despite this incompetence, the Liberals have won just two seats from Labor in 17 years. We have dismally failed the test described by Bob Hawke: if you can't govern yourselves, you can't govern the state.

We will not deserve, nor receive, electoral support if we are not able to demonstrate that we are a party of balance and moderation, interested in the public interest, not sectional interests.
I commend efforts of the state leader, Barry O'Farrell, and the state president, Geoff Selig, to move decisively to an inclusive way forward. The Liberal Party should be the natural home for both social conservatives and progressives. This is not the United States. A narrow focus on wedge issues is no basis for success, especially sustained success.

We must review our relevance to today's community. We must consider explicitly the appeal of our message to young people and people from a non-English-speaking background. We must re-establish our links with both.

As our society becomes "more single, more childless, more secular, more non-white, more immigrant", as David Frum wrote of the US in his book Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again, we must not allow our opponents to be the natural beneficiaries.

Rudd's capacity to effectively maintain all Labor's traditional constituencies while broadening his appeal to the Howard base is a textbook example of politics in the 21st century.
Of course we should argue for distinctive Liberal positions such as flexible labour markets, privatisation, tax reform and so on.

We need to retain our traditional strengths in economic management, state development, security and family values. But let us move with the centre of the body politic on the softer issues, not insult that centre by denying the relevance of its warm and green concerns. Compassion and concern for the planet are fundamental aspects of the national psyche. We must acknowledge the power of symbolism and emotion. There is nothing in Liberalism, in competition, in self-reliance that is inconsistent with innovative and effective Liberal ideas on the environment and on the wellbeing of the less fortunate in society.

The future lies in coalition building, not going it alone. We must learn to work better with independents and minor parties across the political spectrum. Around Australia we are being outplayed by the ALP in this crucial space. There is much fertile ground in universities, business, industry associations and community groups for us to engage - our focus should be out into the community, not inwards on ourselves.

As for the question of factions, the problem for the NSW Liberals is not the presence of factions but our inability to manage them in the cause of the party's overall success. Our key problem is that the winning faction takes all. Whichever side has the ascendancy takes all the positions and endeavours to assert all the influence as opposed to sharing between the factions.

It is easy to believe that a drover's dog would beat Labor in 2011. That would be foolish. NSW Labor on its merits deserved to lose in 2003 and to be annihilated in 2007 - neither happened and we are to blame.

The old truism about how "governments lose, oppositions don't win" no longer applies. The evidence of successive wins by incompetent failed governments in Queensland and NSW in particular is the proof. Making the case for change is obviously crucial. Demonstrating our own capacity to be trusted is equally so.

Let us not be frightened of change, of vision, of new directions. Equally, let us not be afraid to agree with Labor when it gets it right. NSW Labor has no capacity to govern, no ability to govern. It simply wants to be in government and enjoy the spoils of office. We must be more than a pale shadow, more than just "not Labor".

Finally, we must be ready to be competent managers of the bureaucracy and "pro-good government". To quote Newt Gingrich, we cannot win over time as the permanently angry anti-government party because it does not appeal to most voters.

When we last won government from Labor 20 years ago, we faced a government reflecting its age and loss of talent. But equally, we were a united Coalition with stable, well-established leadership appealing to a broad cross-section of the community, with a clear focus on winning and a clear set of directions. People knew in a general sense what sort of government they were getting and its key aspirations for reform, or to use our slogan, "change for the better".
The Coalition has a wonderful opportunity to win in 2011, to learn from both the successes and failures of the Greiner and Fahey governments, to acknowledge the reasons for the dismal efforts of the last three election cycles and carve out a new relevant coalition for good government for all the people of NSW.

Nick Greiner was the Liberal premier of NSW from 1988 to 1992. This is an adaption of a speech delivered last night at a dinner to mark the 20-year anniversary of his government.

Labor V Labor: Left V Left

More heat from the hard Left over Town Hall spoils. Today's SMH...

Candidates step up for city's top job

Wendy Frew Urban Affairs EditorMarch 13, 2008
THE former NSW upper house president Meredith Burgmann's tilt at Town Hall's top job has met its first hurdle, with her Labor Party colleague and former mayor of South Sydney Tony Pooley also considering running for lord mayor of Sydney. The two ALP members, who between them have years of state and local government experience, are both courting preselection support before Labor's NSW conference on the first weekend in May, to challenge the incumbent, Clover Moore.
"I am very seriously considering putting my hat in the ring for the mayor's job," said
Cr Pooley, who is the City of Sydney's Deputy Mayor. He said his focus had been squarely on the local area for many years compared with Dr Burgmann's statewide view. Both played down potential damage to their campaigns by the Wollongong
council scandal and the problem-plagued State Government.
Dr Burgmann said she was probably the least likely person to be tainted by developer donations because of her long history of opposing inappropriate development in parts of the city, such as Kings Cross.
"My early political activity was all about opposing development in the Cross, I was involved in the Green Bans … I have been the person in the party fighting against [developer donations]," she said, adding that she would not accept developer donations that were funnelled to her campaign from Labor's head office.
In 2006-07, the NSW branch of the Labor Party accepted $8 million in donations and nearly $3 million of that was from developers and hoteliers, said the Sydney councillor and Greens member Chris Harris, who will also run for the mayor's job.
"Therefore, accepting money from Labor headquarters would put Ms Burgmann in a position where she is accepting developer donations and inducements from the hotel industry, something that she says that she abhors," he said.
"If Ms Burgmann was successful in her campaign for the lord mayoral role, corporate donors would be beating a path to her door expecting the kind of access that only money can buy. We have seen this from what happened in Wollongong."
Cr Pooley said he had never accepted development donations in the two campaigns he had been involved in but acknowledged the ALP state campaign accepted donations from developers.
"You have to raise money so let's understand what we recognise as donations … less is better," he said.
"Should I run, should I be selected as a candidate, it will be a grassroots campaign."
The ALP councillors Michael Lee and Verity Firth (Ms Firth is also the state's Environment Minister) are not expected to stand again. Cr Moore, who now heads a registered political party of independents, will run for the mayor's job again in September, as will Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard.
In 2004, 14 people put their hands up for Town Hall's top job. So far this year there are six contenders, including the former Sydney Theatre Company and Australia Council chief Michael Lynch. Mr Lynch masterminded the revitalisation of Southbank Centre, one of London's top art and music venues. His 10-point plan for Sydney included increasing the lord mayor's patch to include areas such as Bondi, and giving the council more control over public and private transport.

September elections Heating Up on the Left

The September 13Council elections are starting to warm up as the various political parties test their candidates. Over on the extreme left Meredith Bergmann the extreme left wing ALP trade union backed retired MLC has set her ambitions on Town Hall and unseating equally left wing Clover Moore. Moore confirming today that she is recontesting the Lord Mayoralty for her registered 'Independent' political party. That leaves plenty of space for mainstream centrist candidates and Councillor tickets seeking some balance at Town Hall.

From today's Australian and check out ABC702 this morning.

Sydney's battle of female warriors

Imre
Salusinszky, NSW political reporter March 12, 2008
TWO of Sydney's most formidable women are heading for a showdown, with Meredith Burgmann set to challenge Clover Moore for the role of the city's lord mayor.
Dr Burgmann, a former state Labor MP and NSW upper house president, confirmed yesterday she was on the verge of throwing down the gauntlet to Ms Moore.
"I'll have to make up my mind in the next month or so, and if I did run it would be because I am still very angry that Clover Moore thinks it's a part-time job," Dr Burgmann, who retired from parliament last year, told The Australian.
Along with holding the mayoral position since 2004, Ms Moore, an independent MP, has represented the inner-city electorate of Sydney in state parliament since 1988.
Ms Moore, who has previously been guarded about her intentions, confirmed yesterday she would seek a second term as head of Australia's third-largest municipality when the election is held on September 13.
Labor, which has not had a lord mayor since the 1980s, will select its candidate at its NSW conference during the first weekend in May.
A battle between Ms Moore, 62, and Dr Burgmann, 60, would make for one of the most gripping municipal contests in memory. The two women, both forceful, are not on good terms.
With her signature black choker and spiky hair, Ms Moore is an icon in the gay community - which constitutes a powerful voting bloc in inner Sydney - and has had a float devoted to her at the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. But Labor's Dr Burgmann is equally an icon of the inner-city Left. She is better credentialled as a feminist than Ms Moore, and is the guiding spirit behind the annual Ernie Awards, which recognise outstanding examples of sexism in the media.
Yesterday, Dr Burgmann revealed a potential electoral wedge against her opponent.
"If you actually look at the voting, it's quite clear the more socially disadvantaged areas just don't vote for her," Dr Burgmann said.
"The traditional Labor areas still vote very strongly for us. "Our really strong vote is in the housing commission areas and around Redfern and that whole south Sydney area." Dr Burgmann has long argued there is a conflict between Ms Moore's twin roles as an MP and Lord Mayor. "If she's special pleading for the one-third of the City of Sydney, which she also represents as an MP, then the other two-thirds have got to feel left out - and that's a conflict of interest," she said. Though ridiculed for such foibles as her affection for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Dr Burgmann was widely regarded as a successful leader of the Legislative Council.
Ms Moore's term in charge of the City of Sydney Council has been tumultuous. While the three Labor, one Liberal and one Green councillor have frequently united against her, she has been able to rely on the support of the four independents.
Dr Burgmann said she would consult her "Left comrades" before making a final decision.

Sorry Day

Today is an important day for all Australians but especially our indigenous fellow Australians. Watching the historic and long overdue proceedings in our Federal parliament bought forth mixed emotions of humility and pride in our democratic institutions and political leaders. As a proud sixth generation 1st fleeter, a son of a white Australian forcibly removed from his father's care in the 1950's and the proud uncle of an aboriginal neice, I hope that today will mark the binding together of all Australians for a better common future.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore's brief speech at Redfern today is worthy of the City of Sydney.

Lord Mayor speech - Sorry Day at Redfern
13 February 2008

APOLOGY TO STOLEN GENERATIONS

13 February 2008, 9amRedfern Community Centre
Hello, everyone. It's with special emotion today that I offer the customary recognition of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of this land.

Because today, we have reached a turning point in the Australian story.
For the first time as a nation, we have formally acknowledged the wrongs that were done - to the Gadigal people and to the other indigenous nations, the wrongs that were done to their children and children's children.

For the first time as a nation, we have had the courage to acknowledge our past. We have stopped telling ourselves the comfortable lie. We have acknowledged the privilege that we have in living in this remarkable country.

And in the words of Lowitja O'Donoghue, we have begun to ask ourselves: "What was the cost of this privilege? And who paid the price?"

Father Ted Kennedy knew the answer to those questions. The nuns who carry on his work in Redfern know it, too. Naomi Mayers and the staff at the Aboriginal Medical Service see the answer every day as they care for the sick, the wounded, and those who die too young from alcohol or drugs.

In our hearts, we know the cost, whether it's in child-abuse and petrol sniffing in remote communities, or drugs and alcoholism and fractured families here on the streets of Redfern.

Parliament House in Canberra is a long way from the streets of Redfern. But the apology that has been made there this morning must resonate here, and not just in our hearts and minds.

It must result in practical actions to ensure that past wrongs are righted, and that indigenous Australians can take their rightful place in Australia in the 21st century. That indigenous Australians are no longer the "fringe-dwellers" but are central to
our national life, whether as teachers or doctors or lawyers, as artists or writers, and that every indigenous Australian has the opportunity to fulfill his or her potential.

For in denying these opportunities for too long, white Australia, too, has been the poorer. We have deprived ourselves for generations of the deep knowledge of country, of the wit, the courage, the generosity and resilience of indigenous Australians.

We need to learn from these qualities, and we need more indigenous leaders who can point us to them. So I am pleased that funds from my Lord Mayor's Salary Trust have gone to the Robert Riley Scholarship Program to help indigenous students study law, human rights, child protection, criminology and juvenile justice.
Some years ago, the City of Sydney recognised the importance of Redfern in the story of indigenous Australia, and recognised our own significant indigenous population by signing a Principles of Co-operation agreement with the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. These principles recognise the community and its spiritual and cultural ties to the land.

They also commit us to working together to foster reconciliation and to promote Aboriginal history and heritage. It is my hope that within the next few years, Sydney will have a major Aboriginal Cultural Centre to exhibit and teach the story of the world's oldest living culture. A place for black and white Australians, and overseas visitors, to learn more of our shared story.

I'd like to conclude with some lines from a poem by Michael Thwaites, written at the grave of Teresa Clements, who was buried at Cummeragunja [kummer-ah-gun-jer] in 1959.

You, last of all that knew your tribal tongue,

Sleep now with them in this ancestral ground.

Above your grave the towering, ancient wrong

Speaks in a silence pregnant and profound.

Beside your grave I stand, among your folk

Who loved this land before the white man came,

Burned by the burning words you never spoke,

I ask for forgiveness for my people's shame.

For named and nameless ills your people bore

From us, who killed by bullet, axe and pride.

For our stone blindness; for the day we tore

In kindness' name your children from your side.

What could we answer if your ghost should rise

To curse our children's children from the grave?

You rise - but with redemption in your eyes

Before we knew to ask it, you forgave.

Thank you. I hope we can all celebrate together this first national Reconciliation
Day. Lord MayorClover Moore MP

SMH coverage and links to speeches here.

Australia Day'08 Harmony Park "Reclaim Our Rights" community vigil

My speech and some pics from the today's rally against homophobic violence.

Australia Day'08 Harmony Park "Reclaim Our Rights" community vigil

30 years ago our community marched for equality;

– and we were bashed at Darlinghurst, Green Park, Rushcutters Bay and anywhere that gay men dared be seen.

In 2008 has so much really changed?

This is 2008 not 1978 when Gays and Lesbians first bravely marched for our rights,

first fought openly for our equality just a few metres away.

Where they were met with violence.

Where they were met with oppression.

Where they were met with beatings.

Where they were met with official discrimination.


This is 2008 and we should not have to be standing here today – On Australia Day in 2008,

Standing here in a vigil

– demanding an end to the violence

– demanding an end to the discrimination

– demanding equality as Australians

– demanding equality as human beings

But we are standing here in angry protest!!

Have things changes in 30 years??

We are still second class citizens in our country,

And while the government treats us a second class citizens,

Whilst government scorns our relationships,

It is a passive partner in the violence against us!

For as surely as cowards bashed Craig and Shane - the government was looking the other way.

And the broader community was looking the other way,

And the church was looking the other way.


For until government recognizes our relationships,

Until government recognizes our existence as legitimate and equal,

others will not follow:

Others like the homophobes bashing gay people on the streets around us every night
bashing gays on the streets around Australia.

Until government dismantles all the official prejudices against us.

Until all levels of government do that – until that happens – how can we expect the violent cowards to understand,

That we are fellow human beings.

That we are valued members of the Australian nation.


All levels of Government have to share this responsibility:

The Federal Government – I don’t care what party you are – just get on with dismantling the 58 laws that label us second class citizens.

End those laws this year?

End those laws in February in the 1st weeks of the new parliament sitting.

Mr Rudd don’t back slide on your promises!!

Do it now – make us equal now!


In NSW – Mr Iemma, make us equal - give us Civil Unions in NSW –

let me marry my Danish partner as he can do in his home country

– and every single country of the European Union including Britain.

Make my relationship equal

before our families,

Equality before the parliaments

Equal before the laws

Equal before the people

Equal before the gay bashers.


Make it clear to gay bashers that bashing 2 gay guys holding hands is the same evil as bashing a married straight couple holding hands.

We are equal, our rights and aspirations are equal.

Our pain and injuries are equal.


And to the Council.

I say Stop the blame game

Put aside your turf wars with the state government

and baggage of 20 years

You can do more to protect this vulnerable community.

Fund more Police on overtime for Oxford Street

And if the Police will not take out pink tax money then fund teams of security guards
over the summer peak.

Clover - support me next time at Council when I want us to open a police station on Oxford Street and pay for the extra police.

Support me next time when I have a positive plan to confront this violence.

Council can do more right now by:

expanding the CCTV to cover hot spots around Crown, Goulburn, Bourke and Flinders Streets

Fund a late night Police shop front in the midst of the Oxford Street clubs or at Taylor Square

Install panic points at Taylor Square and Crown Street intersections

develop a policy of incentives to gay bars and clubs on Oxford Street to retain the gay
venues


Now is the time for action - not more words.

The Council must move to protect our endangered Gay identity on Oxford Street.

Oxford Street is a gay street; we want it to stay a gay street
we don’t want permission to visit our bars and venues

30 years ago our community marched for equality


In 2008 has so much really changed?

Today right here in Harmony park – thanks to a motivated and caring community members - we are saying enough is bloody enough!

Give us our full and equal rights.

Government – stop looking the other way

and treating us as second class citizens condoning the violence against us.

Give us equality, give us protection and banish the hate in the hearts of a few of our fellow Australians.

I thank the organizers and all of you for coming along today.

Pics - top Shayne addressing the rally and bottom protesters march up Oxfrod Street

Council must do more to prevent violence on Oxford Street

MEDIA RELEASE

City of Sydney Councillor Shayne Mallard is keeping the pressure on Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP and her City Council with renewed calls for the Council to take positive action to help stop the growing violence against gays and lesbians around Oxford Street.
"Late last year I called upon Lord Mayor and member for Sydney, Clover Moore and her ruling group on the City Council to fund a late night shop front Police station and staff for Oxford Street as an immediate and urgent action to address growing anti social and
homophobic behaviour on the famous entertainment strip," Shayne said.
"Clover Moore refused my proposal and instead offered as an alternative an empty Council shop in the wrong location to be staffed by volunteers,"
"Clover and her group of Councillors waived a vague Police department memo to claim that such a proposal was not permissible. This has since been refuted by the Police
Minister's office."
In the meantime the violence and anti social behaviour that particularly targets gays and lesbians has escalated and appears to have expanded with the appalling homophobic bashing in Crown street several weeks
ago.

Shayne Mallard has released his 10 point plan to urgently address the growing violence on the strip:

1. Upgrade CCTV on Oxford street so that all aspects are covered
2. expand CCTV to cover hot spots around Crown, Goulburn, Bourke and Flinders Streets
3. Install more CCTV warning and awareness signs including in venues
4. Fund a trial late night Police front in the midst of the Oxford Street clubs or at Taylor Square
5. Fund trial late night Police overtime for regular patrols of the streets and bars OR
6. Fund trial team of private security guards in direct contact with police to patrol the streets
7. Install panic points at Taylor Square and Crown Street intersections similar to those in China Town where threatened people can be immediately patched through to Police for help
8. develop a policy of incentives to gay bars and clubs on Oxford Street to retain the gay venues
9. develop with the community a gay and lesbian education program about safety awareness and responsibility
10. develop with the community an anti discrimination and anti violence
campaign

Shayne defended his plan against critics who claim Council should not be funding State government responsibilities.
"When I last raised the idea of Council stepping in to fund an Oxford street Police shop and Police overtime, Clover and her Councillors ridiculed the idea as cost shifting."
"Council already funds areas that have traditionally been state government
responsibilities including CCTV, homeless services and health care."
Shayne said that after spending $23 million on the Oxford street upgrade the investment in community safety is a small consideration.
"It is time this Council did more than flower boxes, worthy reports and pointing the finger," Shayne concluded.

Shayne Mallard will be addressing the Anti Violence Vigil at Harmony Park, Goulburn Street, Surry Hills this Saturday from 4pm.
RELEASE ENDS
23 January 2008

SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS STARTS by Harley Dennett SSO

Homophobic violence is looming as the major issue for many of the contenders in the City of Sydney council elections later this year, with the Greens and Liberals calling for new thinking.
NSW Greens leader Lee Rhiannon vowed to make the issue a top priority during the campaign.
“We’re not blaming any specific person for this, but violence is obviously a complex issue and we need to be using all opportunities to raise it,” she said.
“It’s got to be policies on the ground. Clearly the local council needs to work with police, but there’s a real role for it in changing what that entertainment precinct is used for.
“It’s quite a different place during the evening than during the day time. We support the measures to bring back the shops people need – fruit and veg, butcher, etc.”
Sydney Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard offered a 10-point plan including expanding and upgrading the CCTV network and advertising it with warning signs.
He also wanted panic points similar to those at Chinatown installed at Taylor Square and the Crown St intersection.
Mallard has not backed down on council paying for supplementary policing, which Lord Mayor Clover Moore has maintained is not permissible.
“Council already funds areas that have traditionally been state government responsibilities including CCTV, homeless services and health care,” Mallard said.
“It is time this Council did more than flower boxes, worthy reports and pointing the finger.”
He also called for incentives for gay venues on Oxford St to stay gay.
A number of gay venues have development applications to increase viability. The Colombian Hotel has requested a 24-hour licence, Arq plans a new street-level small bar to operate during the week, and Slide wants to cut its security staff by a third.
Marc Kuzma from Slide said there was no violence within the gay venue, only outside where it maintained four security staff to protect patrons.
Arq proprietor Shadd Danesi said the gay clubs have always been part of the solution.
“In regards to clubs contributing, Arq has already put security guards on Sturt and Taylor streets for the last nine years,” he said.
“Both those streets were fairly violent and we’ve cleaned them up. It’s cost in excess of $1.2 million in wages for those security guards. We’ve contributed a massive amount of money to keeping the surrounding streets safe.”
Moore and Mallard are both scheduled to speak at Saturday’s vigil against homophobic violence.

NRMA triggers bicycle debate

The NRMA's attack on bicycle infrastructure investment has triggered an angry debate in today's SMH including an editorial calling for more use of footpaths (something the City of Sydney is doing as shared zones in some areas where pedestrian numbers are not high), an op ed penned by Clover Moore's office, a news report and a series of letters including mine below. I'm off to ride my bike now. PS great pic on line and reproduced here as well!

Letters to the Editor

Where has the NRMA been? All over the Western world urban people are increasingly turning to cycling for transport and recreation. Sydney City Council research shows people want to take up cycling for environmental, health and economic reasons but are reluctant because of the lack of safe, coherent cycling infrastructure. This is where the NRMA's rubbery financial figures fall down. The cycling infrastructure that today's governments are finally building is an investment for generations to come. As an NRMA member I should point out that in any one week I drive my car, catch public transport, walk to work and ride my bicycle. Our road infrastructure must be understood in a balanced and sustainable context if it is to serve Sydney for generations to come.
Councillor Shayne Mallard Sydney

Bike lanes dangerous, cyclists warn

NRMA misses point on Cycling investment

Welcome back to the New Year and what better way to start than the NRMA taking the opportunity to attack government spending on cycling infrastructure. I'm not sure where they have been for the past few years but cycling numbers are growing all over Australia and the western world as people look to alternative modes of transport. Cycling numbers are growing steadily here in Sydney as well. Council's research has shown that the biggest obstacle to more people cycling recreation or to commute is lack of safer cycling infrastructure such as separated cycling lanes. When first elected to the city Council I campaigned for separate 'European' style cycling lanes for William and Oxford Streets. The outcome was the unacceptable compromise of cycling in bus lanes on Oxford or in imaginative painted lanes that disappear on William. The Council has now finally changed its approach and is investing in proper infrastructure to support current and future growth in cycling. What the NRMA forgets is that it is not us or them - the users of the roads are all tax payers and all various users at different times. I'm a cyclist but also own a car, walk to work and catch public transport.


SMH report below:

Money wasted on cyclists: NRMA

Car is still king . . . a cyclist cuts a lonely figure on the path shared with pedestrians on Epping Road yesterday.Photo: Ben Rushton
Alexandra SmithJanuary 10, 2008
TAXPAYERS are pouring millions of dollars into lining motorways with cycleways that are barely used - and are building a new bicycle lane the NRMA says will effectively cost $300,000 for every cyclist that uses it.
Despite pleas from Sydney's Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, for bicycles to reclaim the streets, the motoring organisation says residents are sticking to four wheels.
In a submission to the Roads and Traffic Authority it accuses the Government of wasting millions on cyclists at the expense of motorists, who are forced to battle worsening congestion as lanes are removed from busy roads.
The cycling lane on the M2 attracted just 130 cyclists a day. The Iemma Government is building a cycleway alongside choked Epping Road, despite as few as 25 cyclists using that corridor each day.
At $7.6 million for the Epping Road cycleway, the NRMA says that would amount to spending $300,000 per cyclist on a lane that is unlikely to attract many more riders, based on the experiences of the M2 motorway.
The NRMA wants the Epping Road cycleway to be scrapped to allow lanes to be widened for trucks and cars.
The Westlink M7 cycleway added $60 million to the cost of that project, a legacy of the former roads minister Carl Scully.
The Government has paid $25 million to Connector Motorways, which owns the Lane Cove Tunnel, to delay narrowing Epping Road from three lanes to one in each direction, leaving room for a bus lane and cycleway. The intention of narrowing the road is to funnel motorists into the tunnel.
The M2 dedicated a breakdown lane to cyclists when it opened 10 years ago but only 130 cyclists a day used it.
Cr Moore has accused the Government of being anti-bicycle and pro-car, and has flagged a plan for a cheap bicycle rental system in the city.
But the president of the NRMA, Alan Evans, questioned the value of cycling lanes, and said Sydney motorists would suffer when the Epping Road-Lane Cove Tunnel roadworks were completed.
"When you have high traffic volumes of more than 35,000 vehicles per day, this is not a sensible use of resources," Mr Evans said. "Cyclists appear to be the only winners on Epping Road, at the expense of thousands of motorists."
A spokesman for the RTA said the cycleway would attract many more cyclists than those now using Epping Road. He said the NRMA's figure was not a true reflection of how popular the new cycleway would be once completed.
"If you give cyclists a dedicated facility instead of riding in normal traffic, they will use it," the spokesman said.
The acting Opposition Leader, Andrew Stoner, said the traffic gridlock on Epping Road was a sign of things to come.
"Current traffic on Epping Road is bumper-to-bumper and most people haven't even returned from their holidays," he said. "Morris Iemma and [the Minister for Roads] Eric Roozendaal spent $25 million of taxpayers' money to delay the road changes until after the state and federal elections and now motorists know why."
Bicycles stay home
- M2: 130 cyclists a day
- Westlink M7: 40 km cycleway, cost $60 million
- Epping Road: $7.6 million, 25 cyclists using the road each day

Thank you

Thank you for your support

I am writing to thank you on behalf of the Liberal Action Team for your interest and support in my campaign for the City of Sydney. Whilst the final election results are not in, it appears that Clover Moore MP has been returned with an outright majority on the Council and the Greens have increased their position at the expense of Labor.

The Liberal Party can be satisfied that we improved our vote by 4%. As I travelled around the polling booths I was delighted by the positive response our policies on car parking and the city economy were receiving from voters. The 4% swing should be seen as support for these strong policies and I will use my position on the Council in the coming term to argue the agenda we set in this election. I would like to thank the volunteers and supporters who worked on the campaign and on polling day.

I would like take this opportunity to thank the great team who took time out of their busy work lives to stand with me for election. My team presented a very credible alternative Council. The new Council will meet later this month and eCouncillor will resume its usual monthly format. Thank you to the readers for your advice and support.

Shayne Mallard, Councillor

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William Street Plane Tree Neglect

The saga of the William Street plane trees continues with the Daily Telegraph report below highlighting the RTA finally taking responsibility for the failure of the so called 'Green Boulevard' and the waste of (ultimately) public money. I have been pursuing this matter since the plane trees were first being planted by the Cross City Tunnel contractor over a year ago. At that time I alerted Council staff to the neglect the huge (and at that time healthy) trees were being subjected to during the planting phase. Unwatered, wilting and planted as though light poles and not living valued trees - I asked our staff to intervene. The response at that time and consistently each time I have raised this mess with the Council has been that 'the assets will be rectified by the contractor prior to hand over to the Council'. This is where the problem lies. I suspect no tree expert or aborist was engaged by the CCT to monitor the planting and after care. The results speak for themselves. Residents, business owners, workers, pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and other commuters will have to wait at least another year before we may start to see the promised green canopy pictured below begin to emerge. Trees are not just assets but valued living investments in our urban environment. But then who would have thought you could kill the much maligned and pretty indestructible plane trees? only the RTA.

Plans wilt as RTA kills trees on William Street

By Justin Vallejo, Urban Affairs Reporter
December 17, 2007 12:00am

A PICTURESQUE corridor of newly-planted trees was supposed help a run-down William St become a Parisian-style boulevard following the opening of the Cross City Tunnel. But with the RTA bungling its planting and maintenance effort, up to 64 of the 73 trees are either dead or dying. Instead of a leafy, tree-lined avenue with thick greenery blowing in the wind that was promised in countless artists' impressions, the skeletal grove that has emerged will have to be hacked away by chainsaw this week

Click here to see the depressing pics for yourself.

The RTA has accepted responsibility, offering to replace the trees and hand over management to council after a failed two-year landscaping attempt. The disaster comes days after The Daily Telegraph revealed the State Transit Authority had killed native birds at its Ryde depot. A City of Sydney Council spokesman said they would begin removing 33 of the trees that were beyond salvation from Wednesday.
Another 31 poorly trees will be monitored over the coming months, but hope is fading that they can be saved. Only eight trees are in good condition, while another three planted recently by the council are also flourishing. "Thirty-three replacement plane trees will be planted in April when the weather is more amenable to tree planting to maximise growth and tree health," a council spokesman said. It is the latest scandal to plague the Cross City Tunnel project, which has experienced falling patronage, speed camera controversies and community outrage at road closures.

Council experts found the trees were dead or dying because:
 SOME trees were planted up to 280mm too deep and were covered by too much soil;
 THE PH levels of the soil found within the root balls of some of the dead trees was high, possibly from concrete found in the soil;
 THERE was poor root growth in some trees;
 SOME of the roots did not appear to have been pruned prior to planting; and
 THE trees showed signs of a lack of water.

What was promised:

Can Erskineville survive a Woolworths supermarket?

Residents of Erskineville and surrounding suburbs are running a strong, effective, grass roots Internet based campaign in opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the "Hive' site on Erskineville Road (formerly the Mardi Gras HQ pictured below).

Details on the proposal are outlined below from the recent SMH article. I share the concerns of residents about increased traffic impacts and the potential negative impact upon the existing small shopping strip at Erskineville. I lived in Erskineville for six months in the mid 90's during a period when the shopping strip appeared to be teetering between survival and closing down with many empty shops and only short term businesses. Since then as the suburb has grown and the community identity strengthened (including the successful campaign backed by South Sydney Council to stop the closure and sale of Erskineville Public School) the shopping strip has emerged as a fine example of a diverse and sustainable urban hub as distinct from nearby larger areas and much valued by the local community and visitors alike. These are important broader points in considering the overall impact of this proposal.

It has been interesting to observe the competition between Woolworths and Coles to open more 'boutique' styled supermarkets from 900 to 2500 square metres in size across the inner city over recent years. Competition to infill the pockets where the mega supermarkets have less reach has been aggressive particularly around the Green Square developments but also Potts Point, Surry Hills and Oxford Street precincts.

Being a resident of Potts Point I am a fan of the recently opened Woolworths under the IKON building on Macleay Street. This smaller supermarket has zero parking with a 15 minute pick up zone out front for people who must use a car. Shopping trolleys are prohibited from being taken out of the supermarket. This approach along with a good range of produce and usually friendly staff generally works to make the supermarket very well patronised and popular with the locals. Rather than extinguish competition as was feared it appears to have help stimulate a shopping renewal in the general area with a new butcher, greengrocer and several up market deli's. Other businesses have opened to service the demand for improved shopping opportunities including cafes, florists, travel agencies and clothing stores some making a welcome come back to the area. A neighbouring convenience store did close down but was replaced by a bookshop and now a new popular deli. The competition has also stimulated the redevelopment of the tired Coles competitor under the famous 'Coke' sign. However it has not all been roses with some reports of delivery vehicle issues at the Woolworths and Council is monitoring the loading dock to make sure it complies with the approval. Having made these observations - Erskineville is a long way from Potts Point with a much lower urban density and higher car ownership and usage. So not quite comparing apples with apples.

To understand these issues and the impact of the Erskineville proposal on that community the applicant should provide Council with an independent economic impact study and detailed traffic study and plan. We have had this information provided by supermarket applicants in the past and most recently for the Green Square Town Centre where two reports confirmed the demand existed for several supermarkets in the area.

As most eCouncillor readers know Councillors are required to consider the full and independent planning report prepared by our qualified staff as well as all the submissions made by the public before making a final determination on a development proposal. I look forward to reviewing the officer's planning report in the New Year and the thorough planning committee process to come.

To find out more from the Erkineville campaign go to the Village Friends web site here.

Sydney Morning Herald

Residents off trolley over shop proposal

Jano Gibson Urban
Affairs ReporterDecember 15, 2007
A PLAN to build a two-storey supermarket in Erskineville has outraged residents who fear their narrow streets will be choked with traffic. Artro Management, on behalf of Harold R Finger & Co, the owner of the building on the corner of Gowrie Street and Erskineville Road, is seeking the City of Sydney's approval to excavate and partially demolish the vacant building. In its place it wants to erect a 2138-square-metre, two-level supermarket and specialty store, with a basement car park for 31 vehicles. The supermarket, a short distance from Erskineville and Newtown stations, would be open seven days a week. The development application says it will cater for people who tend to buy a small amount of groceries every few days, making it easier for people to carry groceries home without a car.
Standard shopping trolleys would not be available, customers instead using baskets and basket trolleys."The aim is to provide the customer with convenience and ease of shopping with a range that can be purchased over multiple trips during the week rather than one large purchase," the application reads.
The developer's insistence that the supermarket would be compatible with its surrounds appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Last week, about 200 people attended a meeting at a local church to voice their concerns.
"We are talking about a large supermarket: two storeys. That is not a corner store, by any stretch of the imagination," said Victoria Rati, a resident and member of the Erskineville community group Village Friends. She said extra traffic, including delivery trucks, would make parking problematic for residents and increase noise in the street. The group urged the council to organise an independent traffic and parking study."At the present, sometimes you have to park one to two blocks away from where you live and that's just going to add to the pressure," Ms Rati said.
The supermarket could also jeopardise smaller shops on Erskineville Road, she said."If just three shop owners were impacted this may be sufficient to destroy the fabric of the entire village."

Ian Thorpe Pool Cost Blow Out - Channel 7 News

Channel 7 broke the story on a potential $3 million cost blow out for the much lauded Ian Thorpe Pool built by Council. The claim against Council relates to decontamination costs but the Questions that need to be answered include why wasn't Council's Finance Committee informed? - (of which I am Deputy Chair and Clover Moore chairs). On top of the slippery tiles fiasco and collapse of the Indian restaurant in Surry Hills (see earlier post) what more is Clover's administration planning for ratepayers? See the news story on this link:

Pool battle headed for the courtroom

More on the Ian Thorpe Pool

Being a tolerant and loving Community starts on our Streets

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SYDNEY STAR OBSERVER

by Councillor Shayne Mallard from City of Sydney Council 12/12/2007

FALSE PREACHERS

I was shocked and angry to have so-called “preachers” come to the City of Sydney Council meeting and demand the right to preach gay vilification on our streets in the false and distorted guise of religious freedom. The gay and lesbian community have suffered unjust religious persecution and vilification for centuries and it has no place in the streets of Sydney today.We all know the harm religious bigotry has caused for countless members of our community including family rejection, low self-esteem, self-harm, gay bashings and even death. So-called “preaching” against gays also sadly damages the good name of Christians in our community.In response to the “preachers’” representations I moved the following motion at Council to reinforce our core commitments as a progressive city:

“The Council reaffirms its position that we celebrate Sydney’s diversity and embrace people from all walks of life as equals whether their differences be religious, ethnicity, sexuality or other. The City of Sydney strongly supports anti-vilification and anti-discrimination laws and opposes the vilification of any community members particularly the vilification of homosexual people under the guise of religious freedom by street preachers.”

I strongly encourage members of the community exposed to“preachers” on our streets vilifying gay people to take it to the relevant authorities starting with the Council.

Building collapse leaves broader questions for Council to answer

The evacuation and collapse of a Surry Hills terrace containing a home and restaurant business was the dramatic finale of a potential life threatening disaster on the site adjacent to Clover Moore's much lauded $20 million Surry Hills library.

Whilst Council officials (no doubt advised by lawyers, insurers and the Lord Mayor's media department) are saying it's too early to link the huge construction site next door to the terrace disaster, it defies logic that there is not some linkage that will emerge after proper investigation.

Thankfully no one was injured or killed in the disaster, however an uninsured business has been totally destroyed, jobs and livelihoods lost in the rubble and someone's home is now gone. Not to mention the destruction of part of Crown Street's unique heritage.

How can the Council who impose development conditions on all inner city developments be relied upon to regulate construction when questions are now being asked about the management of their own inner city urban infill developments?

Questions that need to be answered are:

• Is the $20 million underground and three story high development an over-development of the sensitive inner city site that inevitably would impact upon the fragile heritage fabric of neighbouring properties?
• Has Clover Moore tried to force too much development into this small site?
• Is the rush to have this building completed before next September's Council elections putting unreasonable pressure on the contractor and Council management?
• Is the orgy of construction projects being undertaken by Clover Moore's Council (eg Redfern Oval, Glebe Point Road, Water Police site Pyrmont, Sydney Town Hall upgrade, Walter Reid Reserve, Cook and Phillip Park etc) placing strains upon Council's ability to monitor project performance and contractors?

The only way to answer the questions and restore confidence in Clover Moore's Council administration is an at arm's length independent inquiry that does not just look at why the bricks fell down in Surry Hills but looks more broadly at Council's capacity to undertake dozens of multi million dollar construction projects simultaneously. The State Government should undertake such an inquiry.

PS Good news Clover is typically AWOL when something goes wrong at Council. No where to be seen during the legionella outbreak from Council inspected cooling towers, silent during Council swimming pool closures owing to bacteria infections and now missing in action in Surry Hills building collapse.

It's crunch time at the curry house
All that's left of Nasir Uddin's Indian restaurant this afternoon.Photo: Sahlan Hayes
There are going to be a number of investigations done; at this stage it's not anything to do with the building work
Latest related coverage
Restaurant wreck: I'm not insured
Photos: going, going, gone

Edmund Tadros - November 28, 2007 - 3:32PM
A demolition drama in Surry Hills ended this afternoon after an unstable Indian restaurant was finally bowled over by an excavator before cheering onlookers.
As residents welcomed the departure of a television helicopter, which had been hovering loudly overhead for much of the day, the Indian Chilli restaurant's owner, Nasir Uddin, said he would now consider suing. He believes the Crown Street restaurant's foundations had been unsettled by the building of a community centre next door. Firefighters sprayed water on the debris and dust as police, construction workers and council workers looked on.Even Mr Uddin couldn't resist taking a few photos with his mobile phone.A crowd of people had waited since early morning for the building to be demolished, which came after it began to crack last night.
The reason for the collapse is not known at this stage, but Mr Uddin said he believed the construction site next to his restaurant had destabilised its foundations.
The City of Sydney council is building a Surry Hills community centre on the site; the construction company is ProBuild.
ProBuild's state manager Mark Nathan said that it was too early to determine the cause of the collapse."There are going to be a number of investigations done; at this stage it's not anything to do with the building work," he said.
Angus Kell, state manager of Archicentre, the commercial division of the Royal Australian Institute of Artchitects, said the collapse was the result of the restaurant's foundations being exposed to the elements for the first time in years.
"This is a by-product of in-fill development in some of Sydney's original housing estates ... where the building is exposed to weather where it hasn't been for a number of years, and accordingly the foundations appear to be failing," he said.
Mr Kell was unwilling to assign blame for the collapse of the building."It's very difficult to see [who's responsible] without knowing the finer details ... it may be an act of God, we don't know." As the excavator completed its job and firefighters hosed down the
dust and debris, Mr Uddin watched impassively, smoking a cigarette.Asked what he was thinking as his building collapsed, he said of the builders: "Stupid people, they've got no idea what they're doing."Very bad, very sad." Michael Leyland, director of city projects for the City of Sydney council, said it had been a successful day given the situation the council found itself in this morning with the collapsing building.
He refused to accept responsibility for the collapse of the restaurant and dodged the question of whether the building owner and the Indian restaurant business would be
compensated.He said accommodation would be provided to those requiring it, and that insurance companies would now step in.

SMH pictures here.

Shayne Mallard calls upon Council to fund late night Police for Oxford Street

MEDIA RELEASE

Liberal City of Sydney Councillor Shayne Mallard has called upon Lord Mayor and member for Sydney, Clover Moore and her ruling group on the City Council to fund a late night shop front police station and staff for Oxford Street as an immediate action to address growing anti social and homophobic behaviour on the famous entertainment strip.

"The community is tired of all the hand-wringing and finger pointing by politicians and is now demanding action," he said.

Councillor Mallard's proposal is for Council to lease a vacant shop on the south side of Oxford Street and fund the overtime for up to six police officers to be based at the station from Thursday to Sunday nights. The station would close at dawn and officers would be required to undertake regular foot patrols through venues and nearby side streets.

Council could also relocate some of their rangers to the station and offer other community services during the day. Council's Oxford street CCTV could be patched through to the office and monitored for any trouble during peak hours.

"Clearly the proposal will need to be guided by Police and community consultation,"

"Council should not have to get into the business of opening police stations, but in the absence of action by successive Labor governments we are left with little alternative."

"This is a wealthy Council that raises more than $20 million from parking meters and is currently spending $60 million renovating the Town Hall."

"I am asking for some of this wealth to be diverted into community safety and protecting a vulnerable and targeted group in our city,"

Shayne said that the proposed Oxford Street police station would be on a one year trial basis.

" After one year we will be able to measure the effectiveness of this plan and hopefully be reporting a drop in attacks on gay and lesbian members of the community. This would be an effective argument for the State government to continue the funding of this initiative.

Shayne Mallard congratulated the Lord Mayor on her recent street walk with drag show celebrity Maxi Shield and the NSW Police Minister.

"I witnessed the Lord Mayor and her media entourage checking out venues last Friday night,"

"Raising the profile of this serious issue is important but it's now time for meaningful action instead of more words," he concluded.

RELEASE ENDS

8 October 2007