Parra News August 10 2021

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Tuesday, August 10, 2021 « parra news LORD MAYOR’S MESSAGE CR BOB DWYER I’d also like to thank each and every one of you for your cooperation during this lockdown – please continue to take care of one another and stay safe. If you’re eligible, I encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as possible, in line with the advice from NSW Health. I believe the more people who get vaccinated against COVID-19, the sooner life in our City can return to normal. Understanding Retail in Parramatta Roundtable Last week, I led an online roundtable forum with leaders in the retail industry to better understand the opportunities and challenges they might face when it comes to opening and running their businesses in Parramatta. COVID-19 Update A couple of weeks ago, the NSW Government announced stricter lockdown restrictions for the Parramatta Local Government Area (LGA). While this is a challenging time for us all, I am confident we will get through this and bounce back even stronger than before. In the meantime, please continue to follow the latest health orders to help protect yourself, your loved ones and our community from this highly contagious virus. As always, Council’s top priority remains the safety and wellbeing of our community. With the current mask mandate in place, Council has partnered with the NSW Police to ensure vulnerable people in our community are also protected by distributing 2,000 individually wrapped masks to those in need. I thank the NSW Police for their support and assistance in helping keep the City of Parramatta safe during this difficult time. Emerging Civic Leaders Program A group of inspiring young people from our City recently took part in the 2021 Emerging Civic Leaders program. On Wednesday 28 July, I had the honour of joining an online discussion with 13 inspiring young people from across our City, who have taken part in the 2021 Emerging Civic Leaders program. Over a six-week period in March, April and May, the participants, who are aged between 18 and 24, received lessons in leadership from some of Australia’s top civic leaders, including former senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Tim Costello AO, presenter and academic Dr Susan Carland, and former Commonwealth Young Person of the Year Usman Iftikhar. The discussion explored a range of topics including the City’s offerings and conditions, retail needs and aspirations, and retail trends post COVID-19. It was an insightful meeting that provided valuable feedback, which will assist in shaping the future of retail in the City of Parramatta. Have Your Say Council is currently inviting community feedback on two major projects: the proposed T-Way cycleway realignment through Constitution Hill, and the Alfred Street pedestrian and cyclist access upgrade in Rosehill. The proposed T-Way cycleway realignment aims to separate cyclists, pedestrians and traffic, and involves the building of a new bridge over Toongabbie Creek. Our other major project is a proposed upgrade to Alfred Street, which includes a separated bike and pedestrian path on the eastern side of Alfred Street, between Eleanor and George Streets, as well as priority crossings for pedestrians and cyclists at a number of intersections. To have your say on these major projects, visit participate.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au Submissions close 5pm, Tuesday 31 August. The program included practical skill development workshops exploring democracy and valuesled leadership, creative problem solving, and the power of community. It was fantastic to talk to this impressive group of engaged and passionate young residents and hear about what they learnt from the program. I look forward to seeing where the future takes them. With stricter lockdown restrictions in place for the City of Parramatta, Council is partnering with the NSW Police to help protect vulnerable members of our community. Council is inviting community feedback on two major projects. Please note: Since printed copies of many of our local newspapers are no longer available, all Development Applications (DAs), items on exhibition, and public notices will now be available via Council’s website: cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au Council Meetings are held on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 6.30pm. In line with the NSW Government’s COVID-19 restrictions, the public can not currently attend in person. To view the live stream visit cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/councilmeetings You can also find my Lord Mayor’s Message online on the City of Parramatta website: cityofparramatta.co/lord-mayor-message Lord Mayor, Cr Bob Dwyer | Chief Executive Officer, Brett Newman | To contact the Lord Mayor follow the link at cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au 126 Church Street, Parramatta | PO Box 32, Parramatta NSW 2124 P 02 9806 5050 E council@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au | cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au 2 @parracity, @discover_parra @cityofparramatta, @discoverparramatta discoverparramatta PN45703
LOCAL NEWS Mayor confirms he’s out Uncertainty surrounds Liberal Councillors ahead of upcoming election NICOLA BARTON parra news » Tuesday, August 10, 2021 The Liberal Party’s two City of Parramatta North Rocks Ward Councillors have announced they will not recontest this year’s Local Government Election, as factional wars stir. Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer and Councillor Andrew Jefferies’ decision to call it a day comes after Councillor Martin Zaiter unsuccessfully took the NSW Liberal Party to the Supreme Court, in an attempt to sue its State Executive over a ‘mismanaged’ election nomination process. Cr Zaiter launched the civil case against the Liberal State Executive, which he is a member of, after it made the decision to not run nominations in Parramatta. As it stands, Local Government Conferences are held so that branch members are able to preselect nominees for elections. Parramatta, however, does not have one, after members voted against its establishment. In the case of where there is no conference, candidates will have to run as independents, unless the State Executive determines to contest and thus open nominations and endorse them under the Liberal name. Some party members believe it is a breach of the constitution to remove the preselection process and leaves the door open for factional powerplay. The Court rejected any evidence that was directed to explaining that dispute or speculating about what one faction or another might do. “While such things may be matters of great and legitimate interest to the participants and those concerned with local government in Parramatta, they are irrelevant to the legal issues which the Court has been called upon to decide,” the Court documents stated. Following the Court outcome, the Liberal State Executive opened nominations for Parramatta. A Liberal Party source said that the party’s left and hard right factions, led by two senior Ministers in the Berejiklian Government had “concocted” Current Councillor Andrew Jefferies. Current Councillor Bob Dwyer. and “rorted” the process to install their preferred candidates across all five of the City of Parramatta Council’s Wards. Cr Jefferies said he has loved representing the community over the last three terms, across both The Hills and Parramatta, but said the toxicity of the chamber is unbearable. “For some it’s more about score settling and bullying than genuine community representation,” he said. Current Councillor Benjamin Barrak. Current Councillor Martin Zaiter. “That certainly won’t be changing over the course of the next term and with the State Executive acting less than transparently by deliberately dragging out the nomination process till the last minute, leaving less than a day for candidate nominations, while excluding local branch members from the decision making process; it’s just not something I wanted to be associated with.” Cr Dwyer said it’s time for him to focus on Current Councillor Bill Tyrrell. Current Councillor Steven Issa. his family and his health moving forward. “It’s been a difficult Council term from the start and at the end of the day it does wear you down,” he said. Parra News understands all remaining Liberal Councillors have nominated, however whether or not they will be endorsed will be up to the State Executive to decide. The Local Government Election will be held on December 4. Hope blackspot may be fixed NICOLA BARTON Wentworth Point’s mobile phone network blackspot is causing headaches, as residents working from home or trying to check in at venues are often without signal. City of Parramatta Councillor Patricia Prociv recently put forward a Notice of Motion, which was endorsed, calling for the Council to write to the Chief Executive Officers of Telstra Corporation, Singtel Optus and TPG Community, seeking information regarding upgrades or construction at the suburb’s mobile network base stations. These include stations at 47 Hill Road (Telstra), 6 Baywater Drive and 19 Hill Road (TPG Community) and upgrading the 3G network at 45 Hill Road (Optus). The issue of slow service is nothing new for the highly-dense suburb but has only increased with lockdown and the number of people switching to a work from home model. Wentworth Point resident and community advocate Clement Lun said residents and businesses are experiencing difficulties accessing mobile networks and have been airing their frustrations online. “The mobile infrastructure is shocking in our area and can’t keep up with the growing population,” he said. “It’s a real challenge with everyone now at home and trying to connect all at once.” Optus, Telstra and TPG told Parra News that they are investigating the establishment of additional mobile base stations in the Wentworth Point area. A Telstra spokesperson suggested those experiencing poorer indoor coverage use a network extension device. “Customers may also be able to utilise their fixed broadband connections in their homes to enable our voice calling and SMS over Wi-Fi feature on supported devices,” the spokesperson said. 3
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