March 12, 2010
Ashfield Greens have been meeting at the Summer Hill Community Centre 10 years this March. Their first meeting was held at the old Summer Hill Community Centre on 29 March 2000 with Greens MP Ian Cohen and ten local people in attendance, including two of our current active members, Indi Bell and Julie Foreman. The group have come a long way since then becoming very active in the local community and helping to promote environmental sustainability. The Greens had three Ashfield Councillors elected in 2004 and again in 2008. The group celebrated their anniversary holding a discussion forum on the future of electricity.
NSW Greens MP John Kaye attended the Ashfield Greens forum to congratulate the group on its tenth anniversary.
Dr Kaye told the forum that NSW government plans to build two new coal fired power stations would increase the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent. Dr Kaye said: “The NSW government is treating scientific and community concern about the effect of climate change with contempt. With the rest of the developed world working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the government risks making NSW an international pariah.
“A clean energy future will do more than reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment.
“It will bring job and energy security and help keep power bills lower,” Dr Kaye said.
For further information on John Kaye’s No New Coal campaign please refer to : No New Coal Campaign Website
NSW Greens MP Dr John Kaye congratulating Indi Bell (left) and Julie Foreman
February 27, 2010
Mike was the lynchpin of our group, then SHAG, during a critical period of transition, from around the time when our first three Greens were elected onto Ashfield Council in 2004 and during the challenging period after, until he moved away in 2006. During his time with us he took on the positions of Convenor of our group as well as manager of campaigns that ranged from Federal to Local Government By-Elections.
Mike put his heart and soul into everything he did, and he is inextricably linked with our success and growth during that period. He had strong leadership and communication skills, yet was unassuming and willing to step in at every level that was required. At a personal level he was caring, supportive and engaging, displaying as much concern for those he interacted with as the work he gave his time and energy to. These qualities made him not only much liked but enabled him to garner the support he needed. His tragic and untimely death at 52 is a huge loss to those who knew him, to the Greens and to progressive causes everywhere.
November 25, 2009
URGENT NOTICE OF MOTION
Councillors Caroline Stott, Patrick Kelso, Lyall Kennedy, Marc Rerceretnam, and Monica Wangmann.
McGill Street Precinct Master Plan
On Wednesday, 18 November, a community forum was held at the Summer Hill Community Centre where several Marrickville councillors and community representatives briefed local residents on a Master Plan for the McGill Street precinct commissioned by Marrickville Council.
Previously, a submission was lodged by a developer with the Department of Planning as a 3(a) Application; it covered only part of the precinct and proposed residential towers up to 14 storeys containing more than 500 residential units and a large retail complex.
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Planning & Building Development Applications
NOTICE OF MOTION OF WHICH DUE NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN BY
COUNCILLORS Lyall Kennedy, Marc Rerceretnam and Patrick Kelso
DECLARATION OF POLITICAL DONATIONS ON PLANNING APPLICATIONS
To move Notice of Motion No. NM50/2009
Council’s website provides the following advice to those wishing to submit a DA:
“As a result of amendments to the EP&A Act 1979 and Local Government (LG) Act 1993 which commence 1st October 2008, all relevant planning applications (e.g., LEP’s, Section 94 Plans, DCP’s and development applications or modifications) and all relevant public submissions are required to disclose information relating to all reportable political donations and gifts (if any) made by any person with a financial interest in the application or submission within two (2) years before the application or submission is made and ending when the application is determined. If the political donations and gifts were made after the application or submission was made, the disclosure must be made within seven (7) days after the donations and gifts were made. The disclosure relates to:
- all reportable political donations made to any local councillor, and
- all gifts made to any local councillor or employee.”
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Ecomonic Development
MAYORAL MINUTE
ASHBIZ EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS AWARDS
I along with Councillors Kennedy, McKenna, Stott, Wangmann, Lofts, Rerceretnam and Acting General Manager Stephen Joannidis attended the inaugural Ashbiz Excellence in Business Awards on Wednesday 18 November 2009 held at the Nilla Reception Lounge Liverpool Road Ashfield.
It was a resounding success both from the organisational point of view as well as the number of businesses nominated for awards.
The theme of the night was the recognition of businesses who have served the Ashfield area for 20 years or more. A wide range of business services were presented with their long service plaques by Councillors representing their Ward.
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October 11, 2009
As published in the Sydney Morning Herald
MATTHEW MOORE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION EDITOR
October 9, 2009
The Roads and Traffic Authority has refused to release almost every document dealing with the planned extension of the controversial M4 East motorway despite a resolution of the NSW upper house ordering the production of all material.
On Wednesday night the RTA produced half a box of papers, most of which were already public, but did not explain what happened to six more boxes compiled by its major infrastructure branch.
A spokesman insisted it had provided ‘’all relevant documents to the Legislative Council in compliance with the call for papers'’.
Asked why it had not produced six other boxes of material referred to in RTA correspondence, the spokesman said they were all protected by cabinet secrecy provisions.
The Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said it was absurd to say all RTA documents were cabinet documents, especially as some have already been leaked and published in the media.
She accused the Government of hiding details of the planned route for the motorway and location of access ramps because it fears disclosure will provoke a voter backlash in the Labor seats of Marrickville and Balmain.
‘’They are abusing the cabinet exemptions to sidestep a clear upper house directive,'’ Ms Rhiannon said.
September 15, 2009
The Ashfield Greens are beginning to roll out a no junk mail campaign, letterboxing many residents of Ashfield, Summer Hill and Haberfield a No Junk Mail sticker for application to letterboxes.
We are hoping that residents take up this small gift from the Greens and play their part in helping to reduce excessive amounts of litter in our local streets and the amount of rubbish going into landfill (most junk mail goes straight into the rubbish).
We recognise, also, there is a difference between non addressed commercial mail/leaflets/brochures and community service notices (e.g., local council newsletter). Our junk mail sticker clearly identifies this difference by stating NO COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING MATERIAL, Community Notices Excepted.
The Distribution Standards Board can be contacted on 1800 676 136 to report distributors who deliver commercial material irresponsibly.
There is another form of junk mail, the ADDRESSED junk mail. The Australian Direct Marketing Association provides an ‘opt out’ service at which you can register. Go to : http://www.adma.com.au/asp/index.asp?qgid=1999
Businesses that are covered by the Federal Privacy Act must stop sending you unsolicited mail if you ask them to, unless they originally collected your information for the purpose of sending you direct marketing material. Further information can be obtained from the website of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner : http://www.privacy.gov.au/faqs/ypr/q7.html.
If you did not receive a sticker and would like one please do not hesitate to email your details to treasurer@ashfield.nsw.greens.org.au and we would be happy to drop one into your letterbox.
September 8, 2009
On Tuesday night the Greens councillor Clr Lyall Kennedy was elected deputy mayor of Ashfield Municiple Council for the next year.
Clr Ted Cassidy was returned as the Mayor of Ashfield Municipal Council for the fourth year in a row.
August 15, 2009
Ms Eva Griffith was one of the founding members of the Ashfield Greens (formally Summer Hill Ashfield Greens) in 1996. Eva had many sides; she had strong political convictions relating to the environment and social justice but yet also had a strong love of music and painting. She was a member of the Woodstock Group which met regularly at ‘Woodstock’in Burwood during the 1980s and 1990s. She played the flute and obo.
Eva was also a generous person. After coming across a small inheritance from a friend, she financially sponsored an SSO composer, who in turn composed orchestral pieces in honour of Eva.
Eva was an extremely humble, gracious, happy, fair, loving and hard working person. All who knew her grew to love her.
She left behind a loving family, missed by her twin sister Laurie, and partner David.
August 13, 2009
Cr Marc Rerceretnam
13 August 2009
Due to Ashfield’s central location, Sydney residents utilise local roads travelling to and from work on a daily basis. While residents accept this as a necessary evil, living in an area with major arterial roads such as Parramatta and Liverpool Roads, increasing levels speeding traffic continues to infiltrate our residential street areas.
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