The Weekly Times - TWT - 12 December 2018

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4 THE WEEKLY TIMES Wednesday 12 December, 2018 Public acclaim for ‘Dominello Effect’ Dear Sir, Ryde MP Victor Dominello has received acclaim across the State for the recently coined “Dominello Effect”. In Mr Dominello’s ten years in public life he has actively campaigned against overdevelopment. The one instance where Mr Dominello did support a developer were social housing units, supported by Mission Australia and the Salvation Army. Now other MP’s and even the Premier herself are starting to take notice and listening to the concerns on overdevelopment because of the Ryde MP’s advocacy. Victor Dominello has opposed overdevelopment to the point where he has been attacked by Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson and Meriton CEO Harry Triguboff. He’s even advocated for his community to the point where now every NSW MP has pushed for a minimum one year development freeze in their electorates. In a country where few upstanding, moral and ethical politicians exist anymore, it is great to see that people like Mr Dominello still operate in our Parliament. Someone willing to stand against even his own Government and break Party lines to do what is right. Rangers blitz BERYL JOHNSON Ermington Dear sir, I would like to let you know how Hunter Hill Rangers fine parents dropping off kids at Marist Sisters College at Woolwich. They are issuing $337 fines! Considering there are NO parent drop off/pick up zones there and council have made all the other areas No stopping zone, it makes it very difficult for parents to drop off kids at school. There are few parking spots which are always full and the rest is either Bus zone or No stopping zone. So unless we fly a helicopter and drop them off like that, or drop them off 500 metres before or after school, I don’t see any other way. Why are there no drop off zones for parents? What are we supposed to do? How come there are drop off zones at Hunters Hill public school? I know this is a high school and most kids go on the bus, but sometimes we need to drop them off for various reasons, only to be greeted by lovely Hunters Hill Rangers! Where every family is special PH: 1300 74 00 74 904 Victoria Rd, West Ryde NSW 2114 www.ladyannefunerals.com.au Letters to the Editor Merry Christmas to me from Hunters Hill Council. NATASHA LAKIC natasha.lakic71@gmail.com PM Morrison was outmanoeuvred Dear Sir, PM Morrison, a great student of the NRL, failed to cover a great “blindside” run from the scrum/scrum base by the PM’s former team mate, Julia Banks! JOHN FRYER Ryde Christmas Day on the streets Dear Sir, The countdown has begun ‘till Christmas Day and while I do love this time of year, I often find myself saddened when I am reminded of all the young kids who will be alone without anyone to care for them this Christmas. Every year there are many kids who spend their Christmas Day on the streets – they don’t have a home to go to let alone presents or a hot meal. Our homeless youth are reminded at Christmas of what they don’t have but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you ask some of the kids Youth Off The Streets work with what they want for Christmas, it won’t be a new bike or the latest game. They will ask for somewhere safe to sleep. Someone to talk to. A hot meal. A shower. The little things that make you feel loved and wanted. This year I’ll be handing out hundreds of hampers and presents across Australia to families who need it. Our Koch Centre for Youth and Learning is also holding a community dinner on Christmas Eve to show our support to the people we work with. Just the simple act of giving a Christmas meal can drastically change the holidays for families in need. Having a meal and someone to talk to gives them the opportunity to connect with others which is what this time of year is all about. Father CHRIS RILEY CEO and Founder at Youth Off The Streets Simple message to Ryde Councillors LETTERS Welcome TWT welcomes letters from our readers. Full name, address and telephone number MUST be supplied, even if not for publication. Send to: TWT PO Box 123, Ryde 1680 or email: contactus@weekly times.com.au Dear Sir, Wow! What a hotbed of political bastardry is Ryde Council. First you have Clr Lane accused of belittling the Mayor by naming the massive 250m tower in Macquarie Park “Laxale Towers” (Toughen up Mr Mayor). Then we get the Labor Mayor accused of using Council resources for his campaign to get elected to the seat of Ryde by booting out Mr Dominello (Sorry Mr Mayor - you stand for nothing except yourself). Then you get Clr Maggio, (winner of the most code of conduct breaches award) coming out in the newspaper saying they’re all terrible. Clr Maggio - we all remember your message to the female General Manager telling her she should have stayed a housewife and you being banned from speaking to staff while you were mayor because you were too abusive. Are these the sorts of people we want running for elected office? Both Messers Laxale and Maggio say they are running for state Parliament on top of their Council job. I have a simple message for all of you. Get on with the job you were elected to do. You seem to be having enough trouble doing that without adding another one. KIM AKBARIAN West Ryde Overdevelopment must be stopped in Ryde Dear Sir, Rampant overdevelopment must be stopped in Ryde. Another proposed development has been submitted to Ryde Council, this time replacing three residential houses with 22 (yes 22!) dwellings on three residential blocks. This is in a small residential area 19-23 Samual Street Ryde. It is totally not in keeping with the surrounding streets, nor is the traffic and parking able to be supported by the very narrow streets which are already congested. Please let the council know that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, and register your objection to LDA2018/0432 by December 21, 2018. JILL TAPPING jilltapping@hotmail.com Keep snouts out of Ryde trough Dear Sir, What is it with these politicians using our rates to serve their own political interests? Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale had been found guilty of breaching the code of conduct for using council resources to recruit unknowing residents to his Labor state campaign. Being Mayor of Ryde is a privilege. Using Mayoral letterhead to try and get people to support your state parliament ambitions tells us loud and clear - you don’t respect the privilege you have been given. Mayor Laxale, if you’re so keen to join your Labor mates in Macquarie Street, make sure you keep your snout out of the Ryde trough while doing so. BERNIE EDWARDS North Ryde History lesson for a history teacher? Dear Sir, In reference to Mr Selinger’s comment (TWT 5-12-18), I am surprised and disappointed that he states that two policemen were shot dead at Stringybark Creek in 1878. He should have said it was three policemen shot dead by Ned Kelly. And I believe Mr Selinger is a teacher. His manner is very patronising of Mr Ikonomou. The trouble with erroneous history is that people may go around repeating the error. And the most important thing about History is that if one doesn’t learn from it, then it will repeat itself, with the same results. JOHN DONOHOE Epping More objections to overdevelopment Dear Sir, Another proposed development has been submitted to Ryde Council. 22 Units are proposed to be built on three residential blocks in an R2 zoning Area at 19-23 Samuel Street Ryde which is a dead end and a local narrow street. It is being submitted under the provisions of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009. Consisting of five (5) Affordable Rental Housing Units and the remainder sixteen (16) Units for sale. It is outrageous! Application No. LDA2018/0432. All Ryde residents objections can be lodged to Ryde Council by December 21, 2018. ASHLEY and RAE ISAACS Ryde NBN communication non existent Dear Sir, On Monday morning December 3 at 8 am three NBN workmen were in my garden digging a 30 metre trench along my fence line to lay the conduit for the NBN for the neighbour behind my house. I had not been contacted by the NBN that this digging was going to happen. On the Sunday December 2 my neighbour, whose English is limited told me that the NBN had suggested to him that digging the trench through my garden was the best option for his NBN connection. It seemed that my neighbour had been made responsible for communicating to me that the NBN was going to dig a trench in my garden. I think that this is totally inappropriate. The NBN should have contacted me about these plans, explained the work to be done and when it was to happen. To rely on a neighbour to be the spokesperson for the NBN is illegal and totally inappropriate. When I opened my curtains, after I had had a shower and got dressed the men were working in my garden. I have contacted the NBN and asked them to improve on their communication with owners of properties when they need to access their property and explain what work and when work needs to be done. WIES SCHUIRINGA West Ryde Hunters Hill Guest Column Katie’s fascinating stories of growing up with Jeanne Little GROWING UP in the 1980s my mother was a household name – Jeanne Little. Most people loved her, some loathed her – “That voice!” – and a few odd ones even stalked her! Mum was a weekly regular on The Mike Walsh Show for over a decade and won the Gold Logie for Most Popular TV Personality in 1974. Jeanne “fell into television” as she used to say when she was pregnant with me, and I went everywhere with her. I took my job as her assistant very seriously when I was a little girl! Backstage I was always on hand to yank up a zipper or peel off Mum’s old eyelash glue as she transformed herself from humble ‘Plain Jane’ into the persona millions came to adore. We lived in Paddington in a very tall terrace house, my bedroom was right up the top next to Mum’s sewing room. Downstairs in the basement Dad ran his prestigious interior design business, most of the house looked like a set out of Dynasty but up the top there were no rules and creative expression trumped all. We lived in a fabulous creative mess. * * * MUM LOVED nothing better than staying up all night running up outfits on her sewing machine and was always looking for ideas. To The POINT with KATIE M LITTLE She made hats from icecream cones or 12” records melted in the oven and sewed dresses with squares of toast or flattened milk bottle caps. Mum was so resourceful and inventive because she had to be, she’d grown up the youngest of seven children, brought up by a single mother who had told instilled into her the belief that ‘anything you set your mind to, you can achieve’. One time Mum made an outfit out of garbage bags, she said it was great to wear to a party because if you spilt your drink on it you could just wipe it off. The idea blossomed into a national competition to make wedding dresses out of garbage bags – thousands upon thousands of entries piled in! * * * OF COURSE as a child, I took my mother completely for granted and it wasn’t until I had children of my own and was chained to the sink one day washing up that it dawned on me just how incredible her ideas had been. Mum made the ordinary extra-ordinary! She was a little bit of joy and frivolity in an otherwise dull world. It was easy to write a book about growing up with my parents, they were such Hill, I’m thrilled my children are growing up in Boronia Park – did you know they even sell false eyelashes in my local pharmacy – and my parents are both in a Mum has been “living with Alzheimers” now for ten years, she’s like a child who – my book Catch a Falling Star: A Story About Growing Up with Jeanne Little I hope reminds people what it was like growing up in Australia It’s laugh-out-loud funny but also touches on serious issues such as the impact From the Little Family to your family – we wish you a very merry ‘daaaaaaahling’ fascinating people. Today we all live in Hunters local nursing home. sleeps a lot these days. I’m finally dream SO thrilled realised of becoming to my a have life’s writer in the 1980s. dementia, leading in Australia, now cause is the of having second death on families. Christmas. KATIE M LITTLE is the daughter of now-retired Gold Logie-award winning Australian entertainer and TV personality Jeanne Little and author of the book Catch a Falling Families in festive mood at Council’s Carols in Park ONCE again Boronia Park Oval was filled with families and friends celebrating the season at Hunters Hill Council’s annual Carols in the Park. Local acts led the audience in the Carols and Santa Claus dropped by to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and fireworks lit the night sky. Thanks to all of the attendees, sponsors Ward Partners, Sydney Water, stallholders, performers and staff who made this such an enjoyable evening. Thank you also to everyone who helped make this event sustainable by refilling water bottles at the Sydney Water hydration stations. * * * WE take this opportunity to thank all of the residents who took part in their local area Precinct Meeting. Council appreciates your contribution and looks forward to working with you in partnership for the future. There was a lot of discussion generated with valuable feedback and suggestions provided. As a result we will be producing a document that will set out the key themes, feedback and actions. * * * THANK you to everyone who helped start the Henley Green Community Garden - this wonderful new edible garden with our local social enterprise The Happy Hens. It was a great afternoon for all the volunteers who came along to the working bee. The Hens and friends began preparing the ‘no dig’ beds, raised vegetable planting boxes and sowed plenty of seeds to nurture into seedlings for the next planting session. HUNTERS HILL HAPPENINGS with Mayor MARK BENNETT Council provided a community grant which allowed the Happy Hens to invest in woodchips, soil, compost and seed planters to get the project well underway. We look forward to tasting the crops in the months to come. * * * COUNCIL was delighted to support the pilot sessions of the new government initiative ‘Be Connected’ in partnership with Sydney Community Services and Homecare Heroes. The sessions were run by Homecare Heroes, an organisation that has been chosen by the Australian Government to help promote this initiative. Be Connected is an Australia-wide initiative empowering all Australians to thrive in a digital world. Thank you to trainers Mat and Joanne who worked enthusiastically with the Senior Women’s Wellness and English Conversation Groups from Sydney Community Services. These local community members were assisted to sign up for the Be Connected program https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/ and many were surprising their relatives with social media messages by the end of the session. Council looks forward to helping more community members get involved in this fun and inclusive program supporting greater digital literacy for all. * * * THE Hunters Hill peninsula will be closed at Church Street overpass from 1pm on New Year’s Eve Monday December 31 until 1am on January 1, 2019. A Park and Ride service with buses requiring your Opal card will be available from Boronia Park. Visit the Council website: www. huntershill.nsw.gov.au for more details. Passes are only available from the Council Customer Service Centre until midday Monday December 24 and pass holders are advised to fix their entry pass on the inside of their windscreen to allow for easy identification. * * * COUNCIL’S Administration Centre will be closed from 12pm Monday December 24 to Tuesday January 1, 2019 inclusive. Normal business hours apply on Wednesday January 2, 2019. A Council Duty Officer will be available for emergencies only and can be contacted on 0408 461 996. * * *
Wednesday 12 December, 2018 THE WEEKLY TIMES 5 Ryde urges government to reject Meriton tower proposal CITY OF RYDE councillors have voted to oppose endorsing a proposed 42 storey Meriton residential tower block at 112 Talavera Road in Macquarie Park. The vote at last Tuesday night’s extraordinary council meeting was nine to one in favour of notifying the Department of Planning of councillors’ opposition to the proposed development and was against a staff recommendation to approve it. It now has the potential to force an explosive political showdown between the Department of Planning against Ryde MP Victor Dominello (Lib) and Mayor Jerome Laxale (ALP) who have both concentrated their bids to win the seat of Ryde at the March election on over development and public infrastructure issues. Councillor Roy Maggio (Ind) abstained from the vote on the grounds that Meriton’s proposal could not get a fair hearing in the emotionally charged and political council debate. The maverick councillor said the “disgraceful” council vote put the political opportunism of Mayor Jerome Laxale and Ryde MP Victor Dominello (Lib) before the needs of 18,000 young soccer players, who will miss out on millions of dollars to fund playing fields offered by Meriton as a public contribution. “They think so poorly of the community they’ve made this a political football despite the fact that this proposed development has a tick of approval from our own staff and will,in all probability, be approved by the department,” he said. “Soccer will now miss out on more than 35 million dollars because the whole process has been compromised by their political games, where there is no opportunity for procedural fairness.” His motion to refer the issue to the Greater Sydney Commission did not get support but a motion by the Mayor to not only oppose the development but to condemn the Liberals for “the deliberate and misleading commentary surrounding the application” did. “I’m prepared to call out the commentary as absolute lies,” Mayor Laxale said. “Mr Dominello has led a scare campaign, falsely accusing us of supporting the development application and shame on him for doing so because this is why people have lost faith in politics.” He stressed that the only two (of four) Liberal councillors who attended the extraordinary meeting – Clr Trenton Brown and Clr Jordan Lane – voted in favour of his motion. “They did not put up an alternative motion and it is now on public record they voted to support my motion to condemn Victor Dominello’s deliberate, misleading campaign,” he told The Weekly Times. Councillor Brown nonetheless moved an unsuccessful motion to have all items in the Mayor’s motion debated individually. “Damn you!” he told the Mayor. “Your motion is a political stunt and the Labor Party and political stunts go hand in glove. “It shows that Mayor Laxale is more interested in Macquarie Street than he is in our streets.” The Mayor told The Weekly Times that soccer would not miss out of funding because of the vote as it will be funded by other Section 96 developer contributions. Meriton spokesman Matthew Lennartz told the meeting his firm’s proposal is “being undermined by political agendas” and that only 0.3 per cent of the community had lodged an objection against it. Mayor Laxale said this nonetheless represented hundreds of opponents and Clr Brown said locals had been queuing up to sign a petition against the proposal. The Greens Clr Christopher Gordon expressed sympathy for Meriton. “Councillor Maggio has some very valid points and all this stuff Victor Dominello has been whipping up is just outrageous,” he said. “I don’t know how Meriton feel about this because they have been pushed around too and this is a terrible state of affairs.” Urban Planner Chris Johnson urged both sides of politics of politics not to buy into “irrational” decision making and Patricia Forsyth from the Sydney Business Chamber urged councillors to support the development because it would be located next to major public transport stations and would do away with cars. Public speaker Colin Waring described Ms Forsyth as “deluded” to think that Macquarie Park residents would give up cars and TWT Miss Eastwood Granny Smith Festival Queen Divya Ahlawat had a shot at Labor and The Greens. “This (issue) begs the question are the people in front of us running the council for us or for property developers and while it is a relief you buckled under pressure this time, how will this change things in the future ?” she asked. The emotive council meeting recalls the abusive meetings run by former Mayor Colonel Bill Pickering, which were characterised by personal attacks on councillors. At one point during the meeting a furious Clr Penny Pedersen (ALP) was accused by the Liberals of “trying to subvert fair process when she feels like it” and she responded by accusing the Liberals of repeatedly “telling lies” to support Mr Dominello. One neutral observer in the public gallery – who identified himself as an independent voter – said he attended the meeting to hear why staff recommended approval and to hear Meriton’s view. He said he felt disillusioned by both major political parties and would vote for Clr Maggio if he stands as a candidate for Ryde. “They didn’t have a proper debate, they held this late night session to attack each other and ratepayer’s will now have to pay a whopping great overtime payout to all the staff who attended the meeting and contributed very little to it or nothing at all,” he said. Phone 9764 3316 Anthony Roberts wholeSAle priceS direct to the public moree meAtS Next to Aldi SupermArket GeorGe St, North StrAthfield The Honourable Anthony Roberts MP Member for Lane Cove Dear Friends Let me first emphasise what an honour and privilege it is to have represented the Lane Cove electorate in the NSW Parliament over the past 15 years. My wife Alicia my three boys John, Sam and Tom and I are very proud members of this wonderful community – one of the finest areas of the greatest cities on earth. And I am extremely proud of what the community and I have been able to achieve for the Lane Cove electorate. About $60 million worth of funding has gone to upgrading of local infrastructure – schools, roads, public transport, parks and open spaces, to mention a few. And this year alone, the Lane Cove electorate has greatly benefited from funding for numerous local projects. These are just some: • $1 million for a massive upgrade of Boronia Park • $1 million to make Mindarie Park an inclusive play space • $50,000 for an off-leash dog facility at Blackman Park • $107,000 for repairs to Greendale Scout Hall • $180,000 for Longueville Sporting Club • $450,000 for Tantallon Oval • $100,000 for Kingsford Smith Oval • $105,000 for improved boating access • More than $70,000 for Putney Tennyson Bowling and Community Club • $150,000 for planting azaleas on Epping Rd • Almost 31,000 for the upgrade of Carisbrook House I am excited to say that there will soon be many hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of other announcements – upgrades to community facilities and grants to community groups - to come for the benefit of our community. To the final year high school students, I wish you good grades in the HSC and success in whatever you pursue in life. And let me just remind you all that even if you haven’t made it to university, the world can still be your oyster. The trades are calling. Thanks to the booming economy this Government has helped provide, jobs in the trades are in high demand and are highly paid. To everyone, I urge you to please take care over the summer holidays – drive and play safely. And, as we approach the end of another momentous year, I would like to wish everyone of you the very best of everything. I wish you all a holy Christmas and happy and relaxing holiday period. And I wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year. And I look forward to continuing to represent you all to the best of my ability in the future. Best wishes always, Phone: 9817 4757 | email: lanecove@parliament.nsw.gov.au 215 Victoria Rd, Gladesville NSW 2111 CHRISTMAS PARTY TIME SPECIALS TRIPLE SMOKED SLOW COOKED LEG HAMS taste the difference Lean minced steak GREAT fOR bURGERS $ 8 99 kg nOw On SPECIAL Chicken Pork Breast Fillets 1/2 leg hams Rolled Pork kg FROM 4KG Roast or Pork $ 10 90 or 2kg for and Veal Roast kg kg CUT TO SIZE kg Tasty Beef thick QUAST Lamb Tender Sausages turkeys Grilling Grilling NEW $ 11 99 Chops Steak ENGLAND kilo 2kg for larger TURKEYS 2kg for $ 16 00 available sizes $ 15 90 $ 8 99 $ 10 99 $ 17 90 kg Loin Chops $ 20 00 $ 20 00 Greek Style Kebabs • Lamb • Chicken • Beef GRASS FEED BEEF, PREMIUM TASMANIAN LAMB, PRIME AUSTRALIAN PORK Store will be closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day Open Thursday 27th December Easy Parking • Quick Service • Ducks • Geese • Spatchcocks • Quails • Oxtongues • Selection of small goods
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The Weekly Times - TWT - 12 December 2018

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