The Friendly Trip

Our councillor’s sojourn to Tamworth seems to have had a positive effect… from a testy unpleasant previous meeting to all laughs and smiles at last night’s meeting. Perhaps this is the part where they start working together for the betterment of the area…

A fairly light agenda proved to be a long (and not so unpleasant) event as the councillors listened to the Auditor’s report on Council finances. Even the Price Waterhouse Coopers speaker acknowledged his frankness could come in light of our already signing off on their services for another 12 months.  Council finances are in pretty reasonable shape, we’ve lost a little but with the grants etc over the last year we’ve come out of it ok (not fantastic but ok). Sadly the auditor did suggest we continue to receive rates increases bah Humbug…  I do get frustrated at many councillors still aren’t reading the material provided but alas one assured me that ‘they ask the questions they feel the public would ask” mind you we aren’t idiots and some of their questions are –  well…. ordinary.

There has been a small win for the residents of Casula as an additional condition has been added to the work being done by the ARTC for noise wall installation, however in light of today’s news that ARTC is pulling the pin on the project I’m not 100% sure if we will ever see the benefit of this win.

Another small win is the installation of Information boards and leaflet stands in the rural post offices, all going well this should allow the residents of the rural areas at least an over view of matters in Liverpool and provision to make comments and participate in programs etc

Gallery numbers were down last night, we’ve been getting pretty good attendance but whether or not it is that items are still being dealt with in closed session or the ‘excitement’ of the new council has waned. There are still a number of matters we don’t hear a response on… we are still unaware of the results from the closed session/ action where the Mayor hushed/differed discussion on her less than attractive outburst to councillor McGoldrick. I’ve asked individual councillors to have questions without notice answers be included in the minutes and this is beginning to happen…thank you.  Just a note, the questions without notice should be when a Councillor is representing the community on issues they feel need to be discussed in Council or require additional information. Not necessarily questions pertaining to pot holes and garbage pickups, they, like us …  can use the online service for potholes etc or hand them on to the GM for action by the appropriate department.

Can I urge all the readers of this column to watch out for a couple of items soon to be on display for public comment:

1) already on display – the proposed sale of public land needs your comments, if you think a particular piece of land should be sold, or used for a public park, this is your opportunity to comment and voice an opinion.

 2) Chipping Norton Residents’ need to comment on the Bankstown Air traffic changes that WILL affect them.

3)All residents need to review the proposed CBD parking strategy and make comment, I’ve been involved (as your rep) in these and suggest if you feel ½ hr parking in Macquarie & George isn’t enough or have other suggestions this is the time to let Council know… (I can’t imagine what you can do 1/2hr and would prefer this to be 1hr parking) There is a detailed report available and is well worth your time to read and make comment.

Week ending 16th October

A little slow off the mark this week as I’ve been running from pillar to post, Council meeting on Monday night was interesting in that a matter in confidence called by Deputy  Mayor Toni Hadchiti was postponed until the end of the meeting when we were asked to wait outside while council went into closed session… 40 or so minutes passed and the doors were re-opened only to find out that the meeting had been closed… gee I wish they’d said that BEFORE the dozen or so of us waited to be included in the conversations … alas we still aren’t privy to the matter… another to add to the ever growing list of matters discussed in confidence…

There were three who spoke in the speaker’s forum, myself, seeking the support of councillors on the ridiculously unsafe “proposed” road through Berryman reserve at Warwick Farm… what a dangerous idea… and two speakers from the street university speaking on the Legal Walls at Casula Powerhouse.  The IHAP matter regarding the soccer field at Cecil Hills was deferred awaiting further discussion and information. Most other matters were discussed briefly and supported, some like the Aircraft noise affecting Chipping Norton residents having some additional requirements added, additions to the Graffiti policy and some discussion on Council meetings for 2010 with the comment by the Mayor, when additional meetings were discussed by Cllr Mannoun, that attendance at briefings could be improved…  It is clear there is no love lost between the parties at council and I doubt we can expect any change here.

I’m the Community Rep on the CBD Committee also held on Monday and all I can say is the GM attending the Forum in December should provide business owners and residents with what plans are being investigated and incorporated in the CBD. I recommend that if you are a business owner/manager or are interested in the CBD mark the 1.12.09 in your diary as a must attend. I will say however that the wheels of progress do move slowly and those of us on the committee are as keen for a positive & expedient outcome as is the community in general.

Tuesdays Forum was great, I have to say the Western Forum is a lively and motivated group and with speakers from council like the Environment Depts, Mellissa Clarke and Director of City Strategy Milan Marecic on board to answer questions – ask they did…this is one forum where shy and reserved isn’t much represented and I have to admit I love it… you walk away knowing you are amongst people of like mind who care about their community.

Things are hotting up with the Proposed Intermodal at Moorebank and Wattlegrove … this could be one of the largest developments to affect our city to date and I strongly urge everyone to keep a keen ear and be ready to support residents as this proposal if what we hear is correct will affect the entire city…not just a small pocket of residents… I will bring you more on this.

I will also bring you news on the outcome of Green’s MLC’s Lee Rhiannon & Sylvia Hales presentation to parliament on the noise walls when it comes to hand… let’s hope party politics are set aside and they can garner a good outcome for these poor residents.

So as you see, there is never a dull moment and with my involvement with the Liverpool Branch of the NSW Justices, their ongoing training and our hosting of the  State conference coming up next year there is always something happening in our city. Stay tuned, more as it comes to hand….

Where to begin….

Where do I begin, we have a Mayor who thought leaving a nasty message on a councillors voice mail was private, Der !  We have a councillor who has actively worked against the Powerhouse now on the management committee and the Labor councillors have been pretty much unsuccessful on nearly all other committees.  That was the council meeting! Rubber stamping is still rife and debate was limited. I put forward some ideas with regard to the selling off of public property, and asked that the councillors vehemently pursue the noise barriers at Casula, and have had two councillors support my ideas. (Address to Liverpool City Council meeting 14.9.09) The Labor faction is infighting and then Councillor Gillani questioned the tactics used to have him ousted from the WSROC committee. Lordy these people need help they are systematically destroying themselves. If they would only put that effort into supporting the community!

The Eastern forum was as always informative, I now know how to lay a cricket pitch and why council has so few…and Simon Fox from council spoke about the Graffiti policy and invited submissions… so if you would like to comment on how Council handles, supports, eliminates graffiti this is your opportunity.

This week it was also brought to my attention that the idea of writing a submission was a little daunting to many people… I have attached an idea of what a submission can look like, for me it is simply a letter to say whether I support a particular idea or not. Suggested Submission outline

There is lots happening here in Liverpool but if you have the time on Tuesday 29^th September come along and support the residents of Casula and Wattlegrove to: The Liverpool Community Centre 14b Mill Rd Liverpool at 7pm. MLC Lee Rhiannon will be there to discuss future development and Parliamentary involvement in attempting to get what’s right done for the people of Liverpool.

Plus submissions are still needed for the New Road at Casula, the Parking station at Warwick farm and now the Graffiti policy for LCC – time to write those letters is running out, call me if  I  can assist or email me at swesterberg@lso.com.au

Thank goodness for forums,

I certainly believe more debate & genuine discussion takes place at the forums. Albeit that a number of issues were discussed at the council meeting on Monday night, it still boils down to one up man ship in way too many cases. I guess the plus is that the one up man ship between the independents and the liberals is well taken & oft in jest the same alas that can’t always be said when the Labor faction speaks up.

To council: an extremely large number of items were on the agenda this week, some 440 pages of information, a big read I might add. A couple of public speakers offered support for the Collingwood House management & the possibility of opening it more often & using the grounds for weddings etc .A speaker for the Junction Works proposal personalised an issue & created relevance instead of mere words on the agenda. Two youth Councillors spoke also. Mostly to promote what they had & planned to achieve during their term, although it was interesting I’m still concerned that these young people didn’t bother to address the councillors appropriately. I know I’m old fashioned but what is it about many of the youth of today that has them think that basic courtesies & rules of engagement don’t apply to them? This is a relatively minor issue but across the board it seems that rules are for older people not young people & I was disappointed that no effort appeared to be  made to respect a system & conform even a little. The speaker for the South west growth centre sadly lost credibility as she ranted rather than address issues very important to the residents of the western region, a need to learn quickly that berating, attacking & grandstanding will not provide a favourable outcome & seriously lost the plot instead of driving home some valid arguments.

 Valid questions were asked by Cllr Napolitano & Cllr Harle regarding the shale quarry & the long term effects of the operation, enough so that the DCP setbacks/ buffer zones may be enforced, a good thing for the local & proposed communities. A little annoying was Councillors lack of knowledge regarding carrying over funds & the environmental levy in that these questions were asked & answered at forums & committee meetings all of which they have access to & simply failed to pay attention or read.

A commendable attempt on Cllr Hadchitis’ part to hog tie the RTA into allowing access to the proposed MFIS school on Hoxton Park, although ‘talked down” I‘ve been led to  believe that the original DA did apply to have access & that the RTA’s absolute refusal had them redraw the DA providing access via the residential road system. I could be wrong however. Points though Tony at least you thought outside the box.

One of my biggest disappointments for the evening was the lack of discussion about the bicentenary, seems little content in the minutes & no discussion on the floor. You would think that some of these councillors would be keen to have this event be a door opener for the city, making it inviting & inspirational…alas NOT evident.

Whilst I’m not 100% sure it seems to me that councillors could participate or at the very least attend many of the committee meetings whether or not actually on them & be better informed as to the content. I also understand that they are many & the reality of actually attending all would be highly unlikely but matters such as the bicentenary, our CBD and other important issues would have me wanting to attend & listen to possible ideas & outcomes, where as several of our councillors struggle to attend the committees they are actually on. My feeling here is that many of them bit off more than they could chew when putting their hands up for committees & participation… alas I wish they’d thought of that before they got themselves elected.

The central forum: was as always a lively event, although numbers were down the guest speakers were great & sparked some ever entertaining conversations. Council officers who spoke this week were speaking on child care services & the availability of council buses & halls for hire. Always interesting & as one who considers child care very important but is also very concerned that ours run at a loss I was delighted to hear the losses were going down not increasing. The new Superintendant for Green Valley Police, Steve Chidgey was a delight, he brought us up to date on current technology & his engaging manner had all ready with questions & comment.  That has to be one of the best parts of the forums, the fact you can ask questions & not feel like you’ve bared your soul. As usual lively comments were made on many topics however to one regular & me the Pioneer Park is always a hot topic as we are both very passionate that something has to be done to protect this jewel in the heart of our city. To say you miss out by not attending is an understatement…the passion, the commitment & the wealth of knowledge you gain from these groups is wonderful, as I mentioned last week, I’m hooked & hope to remain so for some time.

Council Meeting 27.7.09

This week’s meeting saw a number of young people address the council on the Graffiti Management Strategy, 5 members of the Ted Noff’s Street University attended and pleaded their case for the continuance of the graffiti walls. Media was present and the young people spoke extremely well putting forward a strong and passionate case. Councillor Lucas as always took the opportunity to grandstand a little and to berate these same young people for tagging and illegally painting on private property. Cllr Napolitano jumped to their defence although I believe these young men and women were more than capable of understanding the councillors need to puff and posture. All in all I believe they added a fair and reasonable perspective to an issue that in Liverpool gets far more concern than is warranted. Illegal graffiti is a big problem, everywhere, but for some reason here in Liverpool a number of our councillors consider it by far our biggest issue. I, though consider the slow death of the southern part of our city far more urgent, the need for protection of our citizens from undue noise and pollution, the abject need for buses to service our outer suburbs and some of our inner suburbs, the need to service our rural areas better, cleaning  and improving the CBD and providing easy affordable parking in our centres, the need to provide job opportunities for our locals and training and education for our unemployed and of course the need to have our councillors prepared to debate and discuss issues other than their pet project or raising their image/ profile.

Another matter:  if councillor Lucas has proof or substance to his allegations of selling off historical items from the Casula Powerhouse please put it forward to either the GM or the police, making statements as he did last evening is divisive and unfair to the vast majority of council employees who are hurt or smeared with the innuendo that is left after such statements. If in fact items have been sold this is an issue for the police or at the very least warrants further investigation and allegations in chambers is inappropriate at best.

It concerns me greatly that debate is oft not included across the agenda, and it seems conversations with others after the meeting indicates that I’m not alone here.

Just a note also as I have been asked…Yes I did participate in the CBD Committee meeting, I did offer comments and opinion although not included in the minutes as did Frank Cartisano and a number of other participants.  The minutes don’t seem to reflect that a healthy debate on a number of issues was had and that an opinion on a number of issues was expressed and not only by council staff and councillors.

Another question I’d like to raise is: why do we need 7 councillors to attend the NSW Annual Conference in Tamworth? And that while adding motions to be included in the agenda could it not be suggested that councils all over the state (whom I believe are all doing it as tough as we are) could nominate 2-3 people from their ranks to represent the council at such events. At $990 per person plus accommodation and travel this is an expense I believe we could have pulled back on… alas not one of our councillors must have considered this as an option or suggested it and from all accounts had pretty much decided which 7 were getting the all expenses paid trip away. I am happy to be corrected here, but as I mentioned recently about the trip to Canberra surely notes can be taken, trust can be implied and reason could take place and 4 days away for at least 4 councillor’s  could have been saved by the rate payers of Liverpool.

Lastly a reminder that the draft Bike plan is on public display at the moment and if it interests you what plans council has for both commuter and passive bike travel into the future, please have a look on councils website or phone the staff and make comment.

PPS… don’t forget to read the previous blog about men’s shed’s I’m keen to get some feedback before I invest in books and instruction manuals to help initiate the process of getting one started

Council meeting 29.6.09

Last night saw the rescission motion for the School at Hoxton Park Rd lost.  A number of residents are understandably disappointed as well as the many hopeful parents of students to attend are delighted.  Sadly this issue is being portrayed as racial, yet for those of us who have been keeping a close eye on the situation are well aware it is more about the access than anything else.  Even though the school is approved  to go ahead, the light at the end of this tunnel is that the school board is still looking to work with the residents so all involved will get a positive outcome.  There is still time to lobby the State Govt and the RTA to reconsider access via Hoxton Park Rd which with the installation of a private access road and hopefully a walk bridge will allay any concerns for safety.

Most people who attend do so for their one particular issue. Meeting after meeting we see people attend the council meeting for their issue and leave.   There are a few of us who attend to watch what is happening all over the LGA. And I have to say, after the school vote, not much else happened.  Pretty much they moved through the agenda with their rubber stamp, ticking the boxes and shuffling paper. Cllr Lucas and Harle both presented council with awards presented to them (on behalf of council), Cllr Harle for the GRCCC hosting Council had done over the last two years and Cllr Lucas  from the Cities for Climate Protection Program for reaching Level 5. Although somewhat ambiguous in that I’m not aware if 5 is the top or half way etc, but his comments later that he thought it amusing he accepted the trophy when he doesn’t believe in any of that global warming guff made me wonder… who of Councillors’  does care about the environment. I am a member of the LCC environment advisory committee so I am aware that the council on the whole has a program working towards a better environment, but how much can be achieved if our councillors don’t give a damn? I find it a little disillusioning that this even is a debate.  Forget the rhetoric, shouldn’t we as human beings care about our planet, shouldn’t we be aiming to impact less not more. I attended a sustainability symposium last Friday and was taken when one of the keynote speakers said (I Paraphrase)  why do we aim to just  impact less when we should be aiming at creating a better environment not just minimise harm. Here we are in Australia debating on how much is enough effort, why aren’t we saying this is our home, what can we do to improve and enhance our interaction with nature, not just how much is acceptable to damage and not feel bad.

Two weeks ago a colleague (Bill Cashman) and I sent off a press release to the local papers asking who of our councillors are willing to declare where they stand on the issue of resource management and sustainable power initiatives. With so many things happening locally this has not as yet been taken up, so when will it become important, when will we know if there is support of our environment amongst our elected few?

I get pretty indignant on this topic, I would like to buy an electric car, but I can’t… there isn’t one. And if I did, it would run on coal generated electricity when here in Australia we have an abundance of sun, wind, wave and geothermic options.  None of which are in place in any real manner, and if and when the vehicle makers do embrace the technology of electric or alternative cars, will I be able to afford them on my humble salary? WHEN will all this become important and not merely a laughing matter in council chambers and the like?

If I sound disillusioned I am, I asked a councillor after the meeting what had happened to debate after the school motion was handled and he said “I pretty much lost interest after the motion was lost, we discuss stuff in there (pointing to the councillors room) which probably isn’t right.”  I and others attend council meetings week after week to watch democracy in action. That was “in”-space-”action” not inaction) There were other matters on the agenda, so it seems if we lose our favourite, we don’t want to play anymore…this is crap and I expect more… where is the passion?

Enough of my rant, I guess wanting a better city, better environment etc is a big ask. There is so much happening in Liverpool, did you know that Railcorp wants to build a car park on the Remembrance Drive Park (Green space) along the highway at Warwick Farm, did you know that the residents of Casula (& Warwick Farm)  still aren’t getting any noise walls from the rail or from the M5. Did you know that residents in Cecil Hills are fighting to save the native reserve (lakes) across from their homes, that the residents of Kemps Creek watched as the OTC heritage items were bulldozed into oblivion, that if you live further west that Carnes Hill the idea of catching a bus to Liverpool is a daydream and a cab will cost anything up to $110 to get you home. So much is happening and they lose heart after one loss…damn I want more, I expect more.

Council Meeting 15.6.09

Last night saw a huge crowd of people attend the Council meeting designated to decide on the fate of the proposed school at 612 Hoxton Park Rd.

Many are aware that the residents have worked tirelessly to point out to council and the community that this particular location was not appropriate for safety and traffic reasons. I have also commented on Street corner that I would not send my children to this location, it’s a 2600sqm site proposed to school 800 children and 50 or so teachers and support staff. Anyone who knows me will know that this for me is not a religious issue; this is purely a “locational” one… alas last night the councillors in their lack of infinite wisdom voted to allow the school to proceed.

To their credit Cllrs Hadchiti, Lucas & Harle voted against this proposal on all the right reasons… namely the aforementioned location and that the residents themselves were pleading for support against the development. Sadly the other councillors hid behind jargon and rhetoric rather than vote for what was best for the community. The Applicant advised he would abide by the council decision regardless of the outcome; some of our councillors ignored the residents in favour of a school whose origins were outside our LGA.

Onto other matters raised during the meeting, Councillors had the opportunity to have a 2.5% pay increase and Cllr Stanley proposed that the councillors choose not to accept the 2.5%. Good news I say, as I had already begun preparing documents to stifle any chance they might have had, with council in dire financial circumstances (hence the need for 9% rate increase)  the thought of paying some of these councillors to do so very little is abhorrent.

Other matters were mostly operational issues, but I heard that Cllr Lucas wouldn’t be available for the Heritage committee meeting next week as he was attending the Canberra summit… which takes me back to my last meeting comment of how many councillors put their hand up to attend on our dollar…seems my request to send two and take notes fell on deaf ears…alas I wonder what the cost of this sojourn costs us, the people of Liverpool.

The Lehmann oval situation has become untenable and council has closed it for sporting groups, hear! hear!… this particular oval has been a money pit for way too long. Perhaps we could encourage the locals to set up a community garden on the site,  according to Cllr McGoldrick…”someone” is looking at a proposal for the land… I guess time will tell although Cllr McGoldrick was keen to withhold info for the moment.

My understanding is that the Hoxton Park School site is to be readdressed at the next council meeting on the 29^thas a rescission motion was lodged last evening. More on this as it comes to hand.

Council Meeting 25.5.09

 Well where does one begin? What a shambles.

Clearly the Groups have formed.

The mood was set…sniping continued  throughout the meeting, Cllr McGoldrick has quite a lot to say when it enters the sniping department but contributes very little to the actual debate process. If he isn’t sniping he is sucking up to the Mayor, Paul Lynch or K Rudd so he really isn’t contributing much at all.

Cllr Stanley introduced a good motion regarding the Bill posters program being pursued by both Sydney & Ashfield Councils, debate proceeded. It seems in this instance the local paper’s “call to action” has made Cllr Hadchiti want action not investigation.  His amendment to Cllr Stanley’s motion brought the factions into place, the now liberalised  group managed to have their amendment accepted – Note I wrote ‘ the Liberalised Group’… it seems we now have two distinct groups in council, you know the Independent Council you voted for…well it’s looking more and more like Liberal Vs Labor.  6 to 5.

Now here’s the kicker towards the end the General Manager introduced information not provided in the minutes due to its late arrival, the Gen Man and the Mayor were invited to attend another “money hand out” conference in Canberra, costing $800 each plus accommodation. No Kicker…true, but what happened after was…Cllr  Lucas, Cllr Mannoun (could make himself available) and some others want to be included… so here we have possibly 4 more  now wanting to attend as well.  Making  costs of $4800 plus 6 x accommodation for 3 days and travel to be paid for by our Council (US)…you know the Council  that is struggling so much that Gary Lucas couldn’t be issued with a Blue tooth (Sad but true just ask Gary)and we are to be slugged for 9% more… My suggestion boys and girls send the two with the most clout and ask them for a written account of the 3 days… why in the devil do we need an entourage? …Mayor Waller and the GM can take notes and pass them around on their return… I see no need for so many to attend. It really doesn’t matter what you think of the Mayor, she got the job, albeit by the hair of her chinny, chin chin, she got it, so trust her to do her job and let’s face it if she gets the opportunity to chat with her friend Kevin she might just be able to swing some more cash our way…$5 mill for infrastructure works would be nice… would save us 9% and we have Phil Tolhurst there to keep things on track for us. I hear he’s a bit thrifty on handing out the $$ so he suits me fine.

Cllr Hadad: MY personal favourite for the evening, Mr GM can you please explain the process if a councillor doesn’t indicate a vote.  Explained by GM… “No” vote recorded, so he then took Mayor Waller to task about insisting that Cllr Karnib (usually napping or non responsive) to choose to vote one way or another earlier in the evening.  Something he rarely does if he isn’t 100% sure which way his Labor colleagues are leaning. Fair point Cllr Hadid… I think if Cllr Karnib cannot participate effectively in the voting process his vote should be nay… perhaps then someone would spend some time with him and see if he actually is being left behind or needs a wakeup call before the meeting.

Cllr Napolitano asked that the Auto Voting System – (especially after the debacle with Mayor Waller earlier in the evening) when will it be installed etc, seems she doesn’t like the lack of hands being shown and the blinding speed at which the Mayor speaks through the process. (Have to admit that the idea of privacy may make our councillors vote more to conscience than a show of hands) This may just leave Cllr Karnib in a bit of a pickle though. GM advised that Modifications were being sought and he’d get back to her.

Then last but not least Cllr Lucas… announced he had 29 questions but had managed to load a memory stick and would keep it brief.  He asked 9 questions from current use of Liverpool Skating rink and possible hand back to original owners to missing pathways and blocked drains.

I personally would appreciate if some of the councillors could  speak  a little more clearly and/or loudly as I’ve certainly missed some things and I know others are in the same boat as they’ve  come up to tell me. The Bickering is unnecessary, we know you groups don’t like each other, but that is irrelevant – some of you campaigned on being independent.

Voting will be an either /or situation so maybe it’s time we got hold of some of the supposed independent councillors and reminded them why they got the job. They’ve been striking deals since before the election while all along making comments about Labor caucus etc… Come on fellas… WORK FOR US….I can’t imagine 3.5 more years of this crap and nothing achieved. Or perhaps even worse ideas not being given fair debate because of one- up- man-ship.

One wonders

I ask myself why don’t more people come to the council forums, logic tells me, time, interest and lack of knowledge but I have to say I am constantly impressed by the content. Each month council provides staff to bring the community up to date on matters that are of concern to either the community or generally the council area. Last night had council staff answering questions about the draft Management documents, two rather intense books that outline the coming years expenditure and income. Now I’ve spent the last couple of weeks reading through them and I had a number of questions…ok 9… (with more still to come) but as I was at the forum I was able to ask and get answers to each of them. It’s a reasonably  informal approach as compared to contacting council over the phone and hoping that the person on the end of the line doesn’t think you some kind of nut for not knowing some basic things, but I got answers to all my questions as did the other 16 or so people who came along. I recognise that not everyone is interested in the budget, but mostly we are interested in the parks, the roads and the general amenity of the city and I like being able to ask “dumb’ questions from time to time and it puts a face to the council staff.

Back to the budget, you still have time to read and comment on the LCC Draft budget, if you need a copy,  call council on 1300362170 and ask that one be posted to you, if not it is available on councils website www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au. Then if you want money spent in a particular area you can make a submission and at least have it considered. So the one wonders, why wouldn’t everyone want to be involved…remember you can simply come along Tuesdays refer previous post “lost for words” and choose which forum suits you best…then come along.

If you aren’t busy on Thursday night drop by Liverpool Mall between 5.30 & 7.30 and sign the petition for noise walls for the residents of Casula Mall… at about 7.30 Sylvia Hale MLC will accept the petition to then present it to the NSW Parliament for consideration. These residents need your help and trust me, when and if the time comes that you and your area need help they will remember the help Liverpudlian’s gave them in their hour of need.

One more little thing, I value you your comments so please feel free to comment here, I always want to make sure I’m representing what the people of Liverpool want, but without feedback I’m flying blind, so help me out and make a comment here.

9% plus, plus, plus….

Last night at the council meeting as was expected the councillors all voted in favour of requesting the 9% increase. No real surprises there as Councillor Lucas, not long after he and his colleagues voted themselves the top pay as councillors, mentioned in a newspaper article the need for higher rates.

Here is his logic (as he was the main speaker in favour), when his term is done he wants to be remembered for having achieved things in Liverpool, noble one might say, but he wants to achieve his personal goals with more of our rate money. I don’t recall him saying, don’t pay me so much and we can do more things. Don’t get me wrong, our Councillors aren’t earning huge wages, but they sure made it clear that whatever was on offer was what they wanted. Now, 6 months in, not a great deal has been done and they can’t manage without our hefty increase.

As you can see by my post yesterday, I’m against 9% and borrowing more money. If absolutely necessary most of us could manage 4-5% (as we have in past years) but the reality for me is even though the councillors are saying its only $2 per week, it isn’t, we are hit with higher petrol charges, more electricity charges, higher water  rates (just as Council is) and the list goes on. That $2.00 per week  is now closer to $15-20 from the various companies with whom we must do business without even considering the increases all those fees have added to the grocery bill. My wages haven’t increased, my bills and services fees have and I don’t think I’m alone.  Where does it stop? In my opinion it has to stop here, at a local level, with my council. They do a great job with enormous restrictions from both State & Federal governments. Each year they go backwards when it comes to their share of our taxes, but I do pay those taxes and I feel they/we need to lobby even harder with those Government departments to get a fairer share of our taxes not simply impose another fee.

This is not a perfect situation or idea, it has problems in that some of the services and maintenance issues we expect to be performed may be put on hold or delayed. New buildings and playing fields might not be built, but way too many of us are struggling now, many are losing jobs and others hang on tentatively hoping not to be the next one sacked. Ok for some in our community they’re fine but at council level we need to look at the overall and on the whole I think it’s tough.

As a footnote, Council is the largest business in Liverpool outside the Hospital; perhaps they need, as a business, to look at diversifying their earning options. Councils in other states and cities actually have divisions of council that earn an income, be it parking stations, worm farms or whatever…as silly as this might sound, there are options and I believe they need to be explored.