Reading the paper today I was delighted to see that the electoral commission would be at the Citizenship ceremony in the morning and inviting new citizens to enrol as Australians to vote at our elections… they’re calling 2012 the Year of enrolment.  As a proud voter I encourage all new citizens and any one turning 18 to take up the privilege of voting for who represents us, and with a council election only 228days away… there is no better time. 

See you tomorrow… a recent council post says it’s on rain or shine….

Woodward Park Cnr Hume Highway and Hoxton Park Road Liverpool 4-9pm.

so to all…..

Gōng xǐ fā cái! Xīn nián kuài lè! (Happy New Year-  congratulations and be prosperous!” phonetic Mandarin ) and we really ought to keep up: Dragon, Water (Yang).

Chú jiù bù xīn. (“Replace the old with the new.”)

Thanks to Inga for sharing the translation…and if by chance it is incorrect it’s not my fault its hers LOL (pls let it be nice even if it is incorrect

Yesterday you received an auto advice about my most current piece, sadly this was a draft inadvertently sent in error…. it’s happened a couple of times in the past…sorry about that. The actual piece is on my site so please drop by and read it on line. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Best regards Signe

Cllr Mannoun has a photo of himself and an article in today’s paper about the parking meters again, I’ve lodged the comment below because so far when he has had the opportunity to discuss this in committee or even in council he has failed to attend… perhaps if we want him to show up at a council meeting we might have to employ a photographer…similar happened with the Coopers Paddock situation, he was on the river for a Photo shoot but didn’t make it to the council meeting to either argue or vote against the issues.

Of particular interest however was the poll, the  majority of respondents voted Yes to free parking however when we invited the community & Business owners in Liverpool  to comment and discuss the attendance was extremely poor and comments few…interesting!

My comment: (may or may not be published according to the papers info)

Cllr Mannoun only gets upset about this in the press, he failed to attend when this was being discussed and voted on several times where he could have and should have voiced his concerns. Alas when there is an opportunity to have his face in the newspapers he can find the time…or on the river for a photo shoot against another matter… but attend the appropriate committee or council meeting…not so much…no photographers it seems..Poor form councillor.

One of the pleasures of being at the computer while everyone else has been away is that you spend a little more time surfing different sites and blogs. For some time now I’ve been reading the works of numerous writers in a site called Cafe Whispers( some time ago I posted one of their articles)… they have a number of contributors and the topics are as diverse as anyone could possibly hope, mostly around politics but not always. Those of you who know me know of my penchant for politics…and not only my own.  I believe to bring real and appropriate service to the community you need to at least understand your opponent’s opinion, not necessarily agree with it, but certainly a need to understand where they are coming from. I believe in debate and fair considerate discussion of many issues and points of view. Having said that my leaning will always be to what is best for our community, what is fair and most reasonable for all concerned not just those sharing my particular view. I’ve attached the web address for Cafe Whispers as  I’ve enjoyed reading it, if you too are interested have a look, if not that’s fine too…

http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/

Oh and don’t forget to continue to log in here where I attempt to keep you abreast of local issues and remind you of important events and local happenings… in this case don’t forget next Thursday (26^th) is the Australia Day Fair at Woodward Park on the corner of the Hume Hwy and Hoxton Park Road. Parking should be available at the Whitlam centre (usually a gold coin donation) or catch the T-way and there will be fun for all… let’s hope the weather stays mild (& dry) so we can enjoy all the events, rides, entertainment and of course the 9pm fireworks.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

I would also encourage you to consider making comment about the tanks, graffiti and such as the public exhibition finishes soon. Once complete I’ll post mine here, I think the tanks are important part of our arts centre but after spending a bit of time walking around the site on Saturday I have a couple of suggestions and a wish, a wish that those who have the pleasure of using the tanks remember how tentative they are and respect the site and surrounding areas, what I witnessed was disappointing and took so much away from the fantastic work being done by some truly talented people.

More on this in a day or so.

The news is, perhaps the bad news that many, many things still remain to be addressed here in Liverpool, we desperately need a seat at the table regarding the Moorebank Intermodal Project, we need to be heard in regards to the M5 widening, the Casula/Warwick Farm residents still need noise walls along the railway, the ARTC road access to CPAC is still on the drawing board and with the proposed intermodal  access bridge to cross this park we NEED to be heard. The impact of the Greenfields developments and Section 94 caps will impact is here in Liverpool greatly, there are still issues with cemeteries in the outer suburbs of Liverpool, talk of the release of restrictions on the Badgerys Creek Airport site are still pending and much, much more.

There are things we need to stay abreast of including the need to keep a close eye on decisions being made by council and an upcoming election means this will be a busy year.

Hopefully with some real wins for the community, perhaps with some changes in the makeup of council and with a bit of luck more and more of the community becoming involved in what happens in their city.

Liverpool is such a great place to live, work and play, to raise a family and build a bigger more dynamic city in which our children can find work, get access to better education choices and where there is a fun and an interactive place for all to enjoy.

One thing to write on your diary today is the Liverpool’s Australian Day Celebrations (26th), set to be held again this year at Woodward park on the corner of Hoxton Park Rd and the Hume Highway, I’ve had the pleasure of attending this event for several years now and highly recommend it as a fun family outing, and not necessarily a budget killer for those of us on lower incomes.

Don’t forget for the first time the Archibald’s are at CPAC until the 15th (I think) what a coup for us to host this event. I’m heading down there this weekend maybe I’ll see you there.

Finally. welcome back to my blog for 2012, I will do my best to keep you up to date with what is happening here in Liverpool, I will continue to encourage you to become involved in our local community and to voice your opinion on lots of topics, write submissions and have your say, including here, I value your input and encourage you to comment on anything I write.

It’s been another big year, with some wins and some losses, but all in all we’ve managed our way through it together. As I look back I take a moment to be grateful that we in this fabulous city can have a say, we can unite for a common cause and we can disagree safe in the knowledge that we are free to do so. To you and yours Merry Christmas, enjoy the break because next year we still have some major local hurdles to overcome and it is an election year, our local greens group is working hard to put together a team that will offer Liverpool a strong and viable alternative to the same old two parties… more on that in the New Year .

Till then, be safe, be happy, remember no trip is that urgent you need to speed, no trip so important to drink and drive, not one life is worth risking to unsafe behaviour, I look forward to seeing you all again in 2012.

Best wishes from my family to you and yours.

                                                                        Signe

ps.. don’t forget to tune into 2GLF (89.3) on Monday between 9 and noon, my friend Carol will be on bringing us up to date on local happenings  and the team at 2glf will make sure there is something happening and something to listen to over the break.

I have attached the presentation I made to councillors, here I’ve indicated what was ‘missed’ by the councillors interjections and frankly I wasn’tperturbed, it was as I expected but I am happy with the outcomes, albeit the nonsense with the carbon tax didn’t get stopped, I am confident the people of Liverpool will know this is a political stunt and treat it with the appropriate disdain. Every thinking person knows the 17% the state government is planning to increase power next year (on top of the nearly 40% in the recent past) will affect us all way more than the compensated .07%. Alas as a council election is imminent this is to be expected. Cllr Lucas did not succeed in his attempt to have the community ousted from the CBD committee (tks to Cllr Stanley for her support) and the community forums (although now two not three) will continue monthly from Feb-November interestingly at Cllr Lucas behest.  The other reason for posting my comments was that as always some councillors don’t really listen and in the discussions later in the evening Cllr Hadchiti clearly misquoted me so I’ve posted here for the record.

As I said it was a full agenda and we finished up at approx 11.30pm, council kindly provided a supper however I and many others were simply happy to make a move home. Some of our staff travel long distances and to their credit some were seen arriving at work at 8.30 as did I. I get a little miffed when I hear disparaging comments about our staff, they are from what I’ve observed a decent and hardworking group of people and I wish them all a very Merry Christmas and may 2012 bring exciting times for us all.

All is not necessarily done for 2011 although that was the  final meeting/committee/forum for the year and I do miss them over the break however I am looking for some time off with family as I am sure most people are.