EASTERN SUBURBS
20 COUNCIL NEWS WOOLLAHRA
Have your say on the future of Rose Bay
Woollahra Council is preparing a Place Plan for Rose Bay and invites you to share your ideas to help shape the future of the area. We want to know which aspects of Rose Bay you love and want to maintain and any areas that could be improved, which will help set out a shared vision for Rose Bay and strategies and actions to help achieve it. Take our survey at: yoursay.woollahra.nsw. gov.au/rose-bay-future. All survey participants have the opportunity to win a $300 gift voucher.
Sustainable road program
The extension of Woollahra Council's sustainable road resurfacing program across the Woollahra municipality is reducing the amount of plastics entering our environment.
Ed 27, March, 2021
WAVERLEY
Need to cut costs
Waverley Council is starting a cost-cutting review after failing to meet its cost-ratio benchmark, forcing the council to dip into its reserves. While the council’s overall financial position remains healthy, a report tabled at a full meeting of Council emphasized “the need to address operating expenditure and revenues over the medium to long term. To this end, staff have established a ‘service review program’ to identify opportunities for improving service provision and effectiveness, operational efficiencies and cost reduction.” The review of costs and operational efficiencies will be a long-term program, taking 18 months to two years.
Bronte lighting plan opposed
A group of residents have taken a dim view of the council’s proposal to install lighting poles along part of its Bronte Cutting footpath extension project. Calling themselves the Bronte Cutting Anti-Light Group, they presented council with a 75 signature petition opposing the lighting plans, arguing it is needless because current lighting on the cutting is satisfactory.
Resurfacing on South Street, Edgecliff
In 2021 multiple streets in Paddington, Edgecliff, Bellevue Hill and Point Piper are being resurfaced with a sustainable asphalt product called Reconophalt - a mix of recycled plastic, glass and recycled asphalt that reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfill, while providing a road surface stronger than traditional asphalt. The new locations resurfaced will take the total area covered across Woollahra to 45,385m2, incorporating 5,296,579 plastic bags, 821,029 glass bottles, 143,682 toner cartridges and creating a carbon dioxide saving equivalent to keeping 32 cars off the road for a year.
Restrictions eased at Woollahra Libraries
Following changes to NSW Health guidelines, Woollahra libraries at Double Bay, Paddington and Watsons Bay have moved to the next phase of reopening.
Psychological lifebuoy for lifeguards
With COVID crowd control adding to the stresses of beach duties, Waverley Council is putting council lifeguards through a training program aimed at managing the psychological demands of the job.
Visit woollahra.nsw.gov.au/library for more info.
Fighting the Pagewood Green development
Randwick Council has called for a halt on Meriton’s plans for a 383-unit development at Pagewood until its community impacts are properly examined.
Meriton has submitted a development application for Stage 2 redevelopment of the Pagewood Green site located in the Bayside Council Local Government Area. It proposes two towers, one 16 storeys high, the other 17 storeys, containing 383 units.
He said grounds for objection included excessive building height, Inadequate assessment of transport impacts and ambiguous commitment to delivery of public space. Councillors agreed to the Mayor’s motion that Council write to Bayside Council, the Minister for Planning & Public Spaces and Minister for Transport “urging a halt to this development until the infrastructure and capacity issues are addressed.”
Randwick Council is removing most of the four hour beachside parking restrictions introduced in January following a big community backlash. Running the program are Allan Sparkes, a former NSW Police officer and former Deputy Commissioner for NSW Mental Health Commission, and Dr David Said, a medical expert with 22 years’ clinical experience with the military. They run a mental health program aimed specifically at people who work in frontline emergency settings.
“When the crowds leave at the end of the day, it’s our lifeguards who are left to mentally unpack any incidents that may have occurred at our beaches,” said Mr du Plessis, pictured with Allan Sparkes (middle) and Dr Said.
Marjorie O'Neill MP MEMBER FOR COOGEE Hello Everyone! As the first vaccines are rolled out across NSW and Australia, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for doing their part to keep our community safe and healthy. In particular, I would like to thank all of our front line workers who have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic. While this is a very exciting time, the vaccine rollout will not happen overnight, and it is vitally important that we continue to abide by social distancing and hygiene guidelines in order to prevent another large-scale outbreak in NSW.
STAMP DUTY AND LAND TAX REFORMS
Mayor Danny Said told a full meeting of Randwick Council: “Due to the site’s close proximity to our LGA, I am concerned about the significant increase in population, and the added demand this will place upon community facilities and services, open space and other physical and social assets within Randwick City.”
Backflip on four-hour parking
Matt du Plessis, Waverley Council’s Lifeguard Services and Beach Safety Manager, said taking care of one’s mental health and learning how to deal with emergencies emotionally is just as important as the physical training Waverley lifeguards undertake.
The number of people allowed into each library has increased, limited casual seating is available, study spots can be booked at Double Bay and Paddington, guest passes have been reintroduced, and printing and scanning services are available.
RANDWICK
In last year’s budget, the Treasurer outlined his plan to phase out stamp duty by the 2024/25 financial year, and to introduce a land tax. This is a significant change to the structure of State taxation in NSW and will impact people in very different ways depending on their home ownership status and future home ownership/ investment plans. There is a consultation period currently open, that will close on March 15th, 2021 and I want to hear what you think about these significant changes. You can do so by scanning the QR code and filling out my quick survey.
The objective of the four hour zones was to increase beach turnover while public health orders were in place. But many residents without private parking were outraged, complaining on Facebook about being forced to move their cars every four hours. Responding to the community opposition, Council has removed four hour parking signs in Ocean St, Eastbourne Ave and Donnellan Circuit in Clovelly. And it has resolved to remove four hour parking signs on Marine Pde, Maroubra, Wolseley Rd, Coogee and Pine Ave, Little Bay. Meanwhile, new “permit holders exempted” zones will be created in Arcadia St, Major Stand Neptune St, Coogee. The about-face over the four hour signage was announced at a meeting of Council’s Traffic Committee. A report tabled at the meeting said “a number of community members raised concerns with the Council about the impacts of the new time limits especially along the residential streets fronting the coast.”
OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS
If you have any issues relating to the NSW Government, or you are not sure where to go to for help, please contact my office on (02) 9398 1822; coogee@parliament.nsw.gov.au or 15/53-55b Frenchmans Road, Randwick. You can also visit my website at marjorieoneill.com.au, and sign up to my online community newsletter there too
