20 COUNCIL NEWS
EASTERN SUBURBS Ed 38, February, 2022
Marjorie O'Neill MP MEMBER FOR COOGEE
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2022!
Council election results
Councillor Susan Wynne has been re-elected as the Mayor of Woollahra, and Councillor Isabelle Shapiro elected as Deputy Mayor, with both terms to run until Sept 2023.
Masselos re-elected
Councillor Paula Masselos (Labor) and Councillor Elaine Keenan (Greens), both of Lawson Ward, have been re-elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Waverley.
Parker returned as Mayor
Labor councillor Dylan Parker has been returned as Mayor and Kym Chapple of the Greens is his deputy.
Woollahra Council welcomed four new Councillors and 11 returning Councillors at the December Local Government Election, with the Woollahra community electing the highest number of female Councillors in NSW, being 10 of the 15 Councillors.
Made up of five Labor, five Liberal, four Greens and one Independent councillor, the new-look Council will also have a majority female representation for the first time in Randwick Council history. There are eight female and seven male councillors.
The newly-elected Council will serve a three-year term, from 2021-2024. Visit woollahra.nsw.gov.au/council for more information.
Local superhero wins Australia Day Award
Mayor Susan Wynne and Deputy Mayor Isabelle Shapiro
Summer art on show
Mayor Masselos will hold office until Sept 19, 2023 and will be joined on Council by Hunter Ward Councillors Steven Lewis, Sally Betts and Will Nemesh; fellow Lawson Ward Councillor Angela Burrill, Bondi Ward Councillors Michelle Gray, Dominic Wy Kanak and Leon Goltsman, and Waverley Ward Councillors Tim Murray, Ludovico Fabiano, and Tony Kay. Mayor Masselos was first elected Mayor of Waverley in September 2019 and remained in the position until Council entered caretaker period ahead of the NSW Local Government Elections on Dec 4, 2021. She said she looks forward to continuing to represent the Waverley community during these unprecedented times and working alongside our dedicated Council officers and community groups and leaders to help make Waverley an even better place to live, work, visit and do business.
There are multiple opportunities to engage with the arts in Woollahra this summer, with a series of exhibitions on show at the brand new Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, located at Blackburn Gardens and open Wednesday to Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm. Admission is free. Visit woollahragallery.com.au for further details. Council has also partnered with UNSW Epicentre to present Double Vision, an exciting new art project featuring a digital screen installed at Kiaora Place in Double Bay, which features diverse content such as new media artworks and local historical images.
COVID update
Due to health restrictions introduced by the NSW Government, face masks must be worn for the duration of your visit to all Woollahra Council venues, and check-in via QR code is required. Our customer service centre at Woollahra Council Chambers in Double Bay is open, and our staff can be contacted on 9391 7000. Visit: woollahra.nsw.gov.au/ services to submit a service request, or download the Woollahra Council App for fast, easy access to Council services anytime, anywhere.
“In spite of the pandemic and the new challenges we now face because of Omicron, and the that this term of council is only two years and eight months instead of the usual four years, Council is delivering the biggest capital works program in Waverley’s history,” Mayor Masselos said. “This includes the restoration of the iconic Bondi Pavilion and the Boot Factory building, and much-needed upgrades to our local villages, parks and playground areas – all with a balanced budget.”
Bus depot works
Good news for cyclists, but not-so good news for motorists – Waverley Council and Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) are closing the Oxford St exit at Waverley Bus Depot, completing the St James Rd to York Rd section of the Bondi Junction Cycleway. Buses will enter and exit the depot around the corner in York Rd, using a new set of traffic signals. Fifteen parking spots will be sacrificed, as will a purple Jacaranda tree near the intersection. A report to Waverley’s Traffic Committee said the loss of parking was “significant” and floated the idea of parking being restored outside peak hours. Another downside of the scheme for motorists will be traffic delays as buses turn right into York Rd. Work is scheduled to commence in late February, with completion by early April.
A man who raises money for worthy causes by dressing as superheroes has been honoured in Randwick Council’s Australia Day Awards.
Tasman Cassim has walked all over Australia dressed as different superheroes, raising more than $62,000. One of his most impressive feats was doing 24 laps of Heffron Park in Maroubra dressed as 24 different superheroes. The $24,000 raised by that endeavour contributed to a new playground, aptly named The Superhero Playground, at Maroubra Bay Public School. Also receiving awards from Mayor Dylan Parker on Australia Day were the community group ProjectKindness and Dr Chris Godfrey, who operates a veterinary practice at Lexington Place, in the South Maroubra public housing estate. The Youth Award went to Alice Lee, who has raised money for a number of causes including an Indigenous Scholarship Program at St Catherine’s school and purchase of 4000 surgical masks to help people in the community.
Wriggly composting subsidy
Composting and worm farming at home are a simple way to turn your food scraps into rich nutritious garden soil and reduce your waste to landfill for free. When in landfill, your food scraps produce greenhouse gases so worm farming and composting will help reduce your emissions too! It’s a win-win for all. Randwick residents are eligible for a compost bin or worm farm at up to 80% off the retail price, plus free delivery. Getting your subsidized compost bin or worm farm is easy – just visit: https://compostrevolution.com.au/ randwick/
I hope the Christmas and New Year period brought you and your family some rest and relaxation and that you are emboldened to tackle whatever the year ahead has in store. I also wish to acknowledge that for many in our community, the summer period will have involved having to face periods of isolation, disconnection and illness. I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks to those who have been volunteering and working over the summer period to help keep our community safe. Thank you to all our amazing frontline workers who have continued to work over this period to protect our community. I wish to extend special thanks to our wonderful nurses, doctors, midwives, paramedics, orderlies, cleaners, catering staff, allied health staff and indeed all of our frontline health care workers. I also wish to acknowledge our phenomenal public health unit based at the Prince of Wales Hospital, who have served our community and this state so well in their contact tracing work, and their expert advice. One of the most important lessons of the pandemic is that our health services are underfunded, our healthcare workers are undervalued and our healthcare system is at breaking point. We know how important nurse-to-patient ratios are. We know how important it is to address staff shortages and we know how crucial it is to properly fund our public health services. We need to tackle these concerns head on if we are to keep our community and our incredible frontline workers safe, healthy and well. If we do not learn from this experience, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. It is our frontline workers who have kept our communities going through this pandemic. They are absolutely essential and they deserve facilities and salaries that reflect how important they are. Finally, as we embark upon a new school year, I again wish to thank the amazing work done by our teachers over the past two years. These frontline workers have done an incredible job keeping our students engaged and learning in the toughest of circumstances, and I wish them all the best for a smoother school year in 2022.
COOGEE SCHOOL SAFETY SURVEY
Ensuring young people, parents and carers can walk and ride to school safely is an integral part of promoting health and well-being, reducing our carbon emissions and busting congestion on our local streets. That is why I am running the 2022 Coogee School Safety Survey so we can highlight and fix the safety issues impacting our local school commutes. You can complete the survey at: www.marjorieoneill.com.au/community/ schools
OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS
(02) 9398 1822 coogee@parliament.nsw.gov.au 15/53-55b Frenchmans Road, Randwick
