Author: Neville

Urban sprawl and climate change issues for Perth

ABCUpdated December 4, 2012, 4:56 pm

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The Conservation Council says new data on Australia’s cities should be a wake up call to Perth to tackle urban sprawl.

The state of Australian cities report found Perth is the second fastest growing city in Australia after Tweed on the Gold Coast, with a growth rate of 2.6 per cent compared to the national average of 1.5.

It found Perth continues to lag behind most major cities in addressing urban sprawl with one of the lowest proportions of high-density dwellings in the nation, alongside Adelaide and Hobart.

The council’s Piers Verstegen says urban sprawl is a major problem for Perth.

“The predominant mode of development in Perth is still low density urban sprawl on the outskirts of the city,” he said.

“We know that this kind of development is not good for the environment, it’s not good for public health, but this report is a reminder that it’s also actually hurting our economy as well.”

The council also says the data shows how vulnerable Perth and its surrounds are to the effects of climate change.

Last year, the city had 50 days over 35 degrees, with an increase in record hot days and a decrease in record cold days.

The number of very high and extreme fire weather days is expected to quadruple by 2050.

Perth is also one of Australia’s three driest capitals, with a reduction in average annual rainfall.

Mr Verstegen says the city has more than one reason to take notice of climate change.

“This report is pointing specifically to a higher number of hotter days and extreme weather events, which in turn bring bushfire risks,” he said.
“So, somewhere like Perth, which is surrounded by highly vulnerable areas which can be affected severely by bushfires is really that is severely vulnerable to these impacts.”

Moving the NSW ALP headquarters will not remove stench of decay

Simon Benson
The Daily Telegraph
December 04, 201212:00AM

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Sam Dastyari at the NSW State Labor Party conference at Town Hall in Sydney earlier this year. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Australian

THERE are two ways of looking at NSW ALP boss Sam Dastyari’s decision to move Labor Party headquarters from Sussex Street to Granville for next year’s federal campaign.

The first is an obvious question. What did the people in western Sydney do to deserve this?

And the second: what difference will a location change make to people’s perceptions of the sleaze, corruption and policy incompetence that now dogs the NSW Labor Party?

As Dastyari himself admits, it may mean little more than ensuring that decisions to kill Labor leaders will no longer be held at restaurants in Chinatown.

At most, moving the ALP headquarters and the election campaign team to western Sydney appears symbolic. But then symbols are important in politics.

And there are two important symbols that the 29-year-old Dastyari is trying to engineer.

The first is a recognition that the ALP in western Sydney is in serious trouble.

National polls do not reflect just how dire things are for the federal branch as it heads into an election year. Labor’s hopes hinge around western Sydney.

Those familiar with the geography of the ALP office would also know that it is based in the building occupied by Unions NSW. In fact the ALP leases its space from the union. A physical separation from the industrial wing, which in NSW is not only responsible for the destruction of the party post-2007 but is now mired in the HSU scandal, is a strong symbol of intent to reform.

“We can reform or die,” Dastyari says. “That is what voters are telling us. The way political power used to be exercised in the past can never be exercised like that again.

“Key decisions can no longer be made by powerbrokers in a Chinese restaurant.”

He is of course talking about Sussex Street’s collective decision, both the union wing and the party machine, to kill Morris Iemma’s leadership over electricity reform in 2008, and then go on to kill two more state leaders and finally a federal one in Kevin Rudd.

From the ’70s to the ’90s, Sussex St became synonymous with political power in Australia.

But it wielded it with a policy sense based in the political centre.

Paul Keating, Neville Wran, Bob Carr, Morris Iemma were as much products of Sussex St as much as they were its architects.

Union heavyweights such as John Ducker and Barrie Unsworth, Graham Richardson and John Della Bosca became its enforcers. And leaders like Bob Hawke, Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd were held to its influence.

It is now a joke. Unless something radical is done, NSW Labor will almost certainly enjoy the fate Dastyari warns of.

The western move is a response to the hammering Labor received out there in the 2011 state election and the one it is likely to receive at next year’s federal poll.

“There is not one solution to the challenges we face,” says Dastyari. “There is no quick fix.

“We need to listen to the community and rebuild both from a policy perspective and organisational level.”

How moving an office to western Sydney will achieve any reform is a mystery. It probably won’t. Change at a structural level will have a greater impact. But this is uncomfortable for the party. And it was on display last week in Canberra. When Dastyari and Joel Fitzgibbon defied Gillard by refusing to bind Labor’s right on a vote on Palestine, it signalled a major shift in the game.

Dastyari knows that for real reform to take place, the power of the factions to bind on votes in parliament must be removed. It sort of happened by accident to Gillard last week when she was rolled on the Palestine issue.

But this does not just have implications for the structures of the Labor Party, it directly challenges the institutions of the Westminster system.

Fitzgibbon posed this question to his Hunter branch members on Sunday: “Is the Westminster system broken?” It’s a good question. As is the question of whether moving Labor Party to western Sydney will make any difference to voters.

Senator John Faulkner Photo: Jacky Ghossein

Labor elder statesman John Faulkner has acknowledged a rotten few in the party ranks have ”neither political principles to defend nor moral convictions” and called for the urgent adoption of a code of conduct for federal politicians.

In a detailed and at times withering speech on transparency in modern politics, Senator Faulkner has lamented the allegations of corruption against NSW Labor former ministers and party officials.

Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid is facing corruption hearings that have also engulfed former treasurer Eric Roozendaal.

After a political year dominated by scandals – including questions surrounding the conduct of former speaker Peter Slipper and Labor exile Craig Thomson – Senator Faulker’s warnings will carry added potency.

He also warned trust in political processes could be ”undermined” by large donations of cash or in kind.

”It is time to publicly acknowledge that there have been some in our Party’s ranks with neither political principles to defend nor moral convictions to uphold,” Senator Faulkner told a University of Melbourne conference on integrity in government.

”They are a small minority, in a very big majority of decent, ethical, people. But the fact that they are few in number does not diminish the gravity of the accusations against them, or the seriousness of their acts.

”To make that admission may leave the Labor Party open to criticism, but I am not so brazen as to make a speech about political integrity at a conference such as this and sweep issues in my own branch of my own Party under the carpet.”

Senator Faulkner – one of the authors of Labor’s internal review following the 2010 election – called for a ”one strike and you’re out” policy for any Labor member found guilty of acting corruptly inside or outside the party.

”A culture has developed in the NSW Branch where, for some, being caught out at sharp practices is worn almost as a badge of honour. Our party would be immeasurably better off without such people,” he said.

Senator Faulkner also criticised what he called an ”unedifying” delay in the parliament delivering on a commitment after the 2010 election to introduce a code of conduct for politicians.

”I can see no justification for there being no code which sets out the applicable ethics standards for my conduct as a federal parliamentarian. It did seem after the last federal election there was a general agreement to right this wrong,” he said.

He also urged adoption of stronger legislative protections for whistleblowers, describing the present laws as ”limited and inadequate”.

He said the widespread public cynicism about politicians and their motives was corrosive to democracy.

”It undermines the concept of mandate if citizens cast their vote without the expectation that their representatives will represent their views or act in their interest.”

Senator Faulker also expressed disapointment Australia had not signed on to an international push known as the ‘‘Open Government Partnership’’ numbering 57 countries.

”It is ironic that the largest recipient of Australia’s overseas development assistance, Indonesia, is a very active member of the Open Government Partnership and currently a co-chair, yet, Australia is nowhere to be seen.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/faulkners–one-strike–warning-for-labor-corrupt-20121204-2ascl.html#ixzz2E3xig61k

State of supercouncils as Barry O’Farrell breaks election vow

ANDREW CLENNELL STATE POLITICAL EDITOR
The Daily Telegraph
December 04, 201212:00AM
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Source: The Daily Telegraph

INNER Sydney and far western NSW councils are expected to be on the chopping block as the state government looks to renege on an election promise not to force local government amalgamations.

Local Government Minister Don Page considers the current situation of 152 councils to be unsustainable.

An independent panel on restructuring councils is expected to recommend in March that there be local government mergers, even outlining which ones should be amalgamated.

And Mr Page said he will take the plan to cabinet for approval despite the state government promising before the 2011 election there would be no forced amalgamations .

“It’s not an option to stay as we are – we have to change in order to be sustainable into the future,” he said.

“They’re (the panel’s) saying with a population in Sydney of 7 million by the middle of this century, we (will) have councils (in Sydney) that have as few people as 18,000 and some 481,000. That’ll make it difficult for Sydney as a whole to present a co-operative strategic view on issues to state and federal governments.

Results: Today’s Poll

Should Sydney councils be forced to amalgamate?
Yes74.72% (5052 votes)
No25.28% (1709 votes)

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“We have got the City of Sydney, you have probably also got Illawarra, Central Coast (where) there’s arguments for consolidation.

“They’re also saying far western NSW (there need to be mergers with) a small ratepayer base and very large road networks.” ‘

The government’s first option is likely to be to encourage voluntary amalgamations but forced amalgamations may be necessary.

Infrastructure NSW chair Nick Greiner has previously advocated for forced amalgamations but Premier Barry O’Farrell ruled it out before the election.

Councils which could face mergers include Ashfield, Burwood and Strathfield; Manly and Warringah; Gosford and Wyong; Hunters Hill and Lane Cove; Mosman and North Sydney; Botany Bay and Randwick.

“This is an independent panel and I set it up … not just the government (but with) the Local Government and Shires Association,” Mr Page said.

“I’ll be taking their recommendations very seriously.”

Mr Page is also understood to be planning an overhaul of the Local Government Act which will include a provision to ensure mayors of new supercouncils will be better paid.

The November 2012 interim review of the Independent Local Government Review Panel, led by Graeme Sansom, found that on 2036 projections, there would be large population imbalances in council areas, ranging from 18,000 people to 481,000.

Central Sydney would have 18 councils with an average population of about 18,000 while western Sydney would have 14 councils with an average population of about 220,000.

The Sydney Business Chamber has previously called for Sydney’s 41 councils to be amalgamated to 10 but it is doubtful the government will go that radical. At present, the council in Sydney with the largest population is Blacktown with 307,816 while Hunters Hill has just 14,591 residents.

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John Kinghorn … invested in Cascade Coal. Photo: Andrew Quilty

Read original at SMH site:

WAS it illegal? Was it controversial? Or was it both?

These were the questions occupying the minds of the independent directors of White Energy who were worried about their company’s $500 million offer to buy Cascade Coal, whose only asset was an exploration licence which had possibly been corruptly acquired.

A corruption inquiry heard there were rumours that the family of Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid was secretly involved in Cascade Coal, which had been awarded one of the controversial exploration licences in a 2009 public tender run by the then resources minister Ian Macdonald.

The possible involvement of the Obeids was troubling Graham Cubbin, a non-executive director of White Energy.

Another worrying factor was that Cascade was owned by several of the directors of White Energy, including Brian Flannery, Travers Duncan, John Kinghorn and John McGuigan, who were to be paid $500 million for a coal licence that Cascade had bought from the NSW government for only $1 million.

Mr Cubbin told the Independent Commission Against Corruption he had no idea who had valued Cascade at $500 million in November 2010.

The commission heard it had been valued at only $25 million earlier in the year.

Mr Cubbin said he was assured by Cascade that the Obeid family had no involvement in Cascade. The truth was the Obeids secretly owned 25 per cent of Cascade and they had negotiated with Cascade for a $60 million payout, having earlier tried to extract $100 million.

The Obeids’ former lawyer Sevag Chalabian told the commission of the elaborate lengths Richard Poole, an investment banker and a Cascade director, had gone to to hide the Obeids’ interest.

Mr Chalabian agreed with the counsel assisting, Geoffrey Watson, SC, that Mr Poole was worried about the ”whiff of corruption” if it became known the Obeids were in on the Cascade deal. The Obeids’ involvement could also result in the government cancelling the exploration licence, the inquiry heard.

The commission is investigating allegations that Mr Macdonald provided inside information to the family of then upper house MP Mr Obeid which allowed the Obeids to acquire holdings in two of the successful bidders for coal exploration licences.

The inquiry heard Eddie Obeid jnr ran messages between Mr Poole and Mr Chalabian over the payment of the first $30 million to the Obeid family, part of which was paid through Mr Poole’s wife’s bank account.

Mr Cubbin said he would have been ”shocked and incredibly worried” if he knew the $30 million was being paid to the Obeids to ”sanitise Cascade Coal.”

Instead, documents reveal Mr Poole told Mr Cubbin he was not aware ”of any payments being made to Eddie Obeid or any entities associated with him or to other Labor Party politicians”.

The inquiry also heard associates of Mr Poole and Mr McGuigan created a series of fake letters in 2008 pretending to be mining companies asking Mr Macdonald to re-open the tender.

Mr Macdonald did re-open the tender and Cascade went on to win the Mount Penny exploration licence .

Neil Whittaker, a former chief executive of the National Rugby League, and now an executive with White Energy, was grilled on Monday about signing one of these letters.

His letter to Mr Macdonald’s department had a ”dummy letterhead” using the name of a non-existent company but Mr Whittaker said he didn’t know the purpose was to fool the government.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/director-smelt-a-rat-on-cascade-deal-20121203-2ar66.html#ixzz2E22GTvkB

Motorists the losers in light-rail George St

VIKKI CAMPION URBAN AFFAIRS REPORTER
The Daily Telegraph
December 04, 201212:00AM

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City of Sydney artist’s impression of how the Town Hall area would look if George St was transformed to a pedestrian boulevard. Source: Supplied

SPARKLING pavers and Japanese trees will feature in a $180 million redesign of Sydney’s George St that hands 25,000sq m of car space over to pedestrians.

A $400,000 design strategy for George St has been endorsed by the City of Sydney in anticipation that, once the state government makes an announcement on light rail, the work will begin “swiftly”.

It found George St had 39,780 pedestrians each weekday and the number was falling because “by national standards the footpaths are narrow and dysfunctional”.

Currently overloaded with buses, noisy, choked and built with “low pedestrian priority”, the report called for 1.4km of the 2.5km street to be car-free – between Liverpool and Bridge Sts.

There would be eight light rail stops along George St – at Rawson Place, Hay St, Liverpool St, Town Hall, Market St, Wynyard, Bridge St and Circular Quay.

It revealed the light rail would be battery-powered along the pedestrian zone to declutter the street and take away poles and wires.

The shelters would be “light floating planes” and it recommended that the stops have no advertising, no vending machines and no ticketing machines – with smart ticketing instead. The report will be sent to Transport NSW and put on public exhibition.

The pavers have been inspired by Sydney Harbour, named “sparkle”, “ripple”, “reflection” and deep water”. The “sparkle” pavers will have stainless steel inserts while the selected tree is the Japanese zelkova, a deciduous tree that goes red in autumn.

“We haven’t been told categorically by the state government (when an announcement will be made) – we are waiting on tenterhooks for an announcement,” lord mayor Clover Moore said yesterday.

“When the government does make an announcement we will be ready for it. This work takes a very long time. It’s for the whole of Sydney, not just for people who live in the area.”

Ms Moore said trams would arrive every two minutes for people who arrive at Central – supporting tourism, retail, business and easing congestion.

“It’s so important. This work is so important. It is a very important thing to spend the rates of businesses on,” she said.

“Retailers are absolutely behind this. It’s a no-brainer. That’s why we are doing this work.”