Councillor post

The NSW government controls planning panels, but renames them “local”

Leave a Comment / Councillor post, Local government, Local-Canada Bay /

One little thing I discovered this week: the NSW government controlled “IHAPs” (Independent Hearing and Assessment Panels) across Sydney all have now been renamed “Local Planning Panels” – by a direction from the Minister for Local Government. Here we see a great example of Orwellian “doublespeak”, with the panels staffed predominantly by people recruited and […]

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Dealing with development approvals

Leave a Comment / Councillor post, Local government, Local-Canada Bay /

Most people reading this page will be dealing with some kind of development application that they support or don’t support. Hopefully this page will help you. Objections First of all, don’t send your objection to a councillor thinking they will be able to listen and get the application rejected at a council meeting. That’s because

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Parramatta River Catchment Group workshop on World Water Day

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Today is World Water Day. I went to a workshop held in Rhodes with the Parramatta River Catchment Group. The workshop gathered broad input on the work and plans focusing on different aspects of the health of the Parramatta River. Their motto: make the Parramatta River Swimmable again! But more broadly, dealing with a wide

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Invasion Day rally and march – Australia Day is on the wrong day

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On 26 January, I went to Canada Bay Council’s citizenship ceremony in Rhodes. Then I went to the Invasion Day rally and march. I think Australia Day could represent a great way to celebrate all the good things Australians have to offer and enjoy. Of course, the current date doesn’t work for Indigenous Australians, so we

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Rezoning proposal in Homebush wants to double heights of buildings

Leave a Comment / Councillor post, Local-Canada Bay /

In mid February I attended a public meeting in Homebush run by the Eastern City Planning Panel, held to get community input into a rezoning proposal for 11-17 Columbia Lane Homebush. This property is within Strathfield Council area, but very close to Canada Bay area. The proposal, with apparent NSW Government support, is to increase

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NSW state government stops councillors determining development approvals

Leave a Comment / Councillor post, Environment, Housing, Local government, Local-Canada Bay /

As of 1 March, the NSW state government has stopped councillors in Canada Bay from determining the outcomes of any development approvals (DAs). The excuse is to stop corruption. The “solution” is to remove the democratic influence of councils on development across Canada Bay, with the NSW government grabbing control and planning laws made even

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Switch 2017 conference for the NSW Public Libraries Association

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  I attended the Switch 2017 conference for the NSW Public Libraries Association at Penrith. We had some great speakers and a lot of enthusiasm. The key focus is seeing the library as “community glue” and an enabler of community learning. Community libraries do a lot, but need more state government funding.  Having once worked for the

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