TATE CHANGES HIS MIND AGAIN

BELOW IS A LETTER SUBMITTED TODAY (SEPTEMBER 28)TO THE HERALD.

IT ILLUSTRATES CR TATE'S PENCHANT FOR OVERTURNING PREVIOUS STRONGLY HELD POSITIONS.WHY DIDN'T HE SHOW LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT FREE PARKING IN THE CBD WHEN HE WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY BACK IN 2006?

It’s great that Newcastle City Council and particularly Lord Mayor John Tate, have changed their view and finally endorsed a trial of free weekend parking in the CBD.

I unsuccessfully moved a 6 months trial of free parking, against the recommendation of staff, when the Mall Markets opened in 2006.

The majority of councillors, including Cr Tate, spoke and voted against it. Better late than never.

THE STAR HOTEL DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE

The following is a submitted letter to the Newcastle Herald on the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Star Riots which received world-wide media attention.

A Herald liftout has been published and an exhibition and celebration/commemoration at the Lock Up, Hunter Street, will be held on September 19.

The Star Hotel’s history is diverse, rich and unique. It was an institution in the CBD since it opened in 1855.

Most of its fabric is still there, facing both Hunter and King Streets. This is by sheer good luck, since a proposal to demolish and redevelop was approved in 2004.

I believe the owners should rethink their proposal and incorporate as much of the surviving buildings as possible in any redevelopment. At the very least, the 1922 King St building should be saved.

It’s heritage significance at a local level -architectural, social and historic is very high and the notorious 1979 riot is one the few occasions Newcastle gained world wide publicity. Notorious or not, other cities would celebrate the site’s long history by retaining the buildings.

The Star’s survival has become relatively more important since the unnecessary recent loss of the nearby Palais -another heritage lynchpin gone.

Copies of old photos and a bronze plaque in a new building’ foyer (as proposed for the Palais redevelopment)are token, completely unsatisfactory gestures to the Stars’ history. It’s bricks and mortar still exist, waiting sensitive adaptive recycling.

The current approval wipes out everything, including the art deco Hunter St hotel and former terraces in Devonshire Lane and crudely narrows the lane itself.

It’s ironic that GPT want to create an artificial Melbourne style lane in the Mall, when we have the real thing with Devonshire Lane, potentially a unique cultural landmark in a revitalised West End.

MEDIA TART BUMAN'S AT IT AGAIN

REFER TO TWO NEWCASTLE HERALD ARTICLES:
POWER IN MERGED COUNCILS (31/8)
FIX RAIL GATE OR CLOSE IT (1/9).

There’s no beating Cr Aaron Buman for populist (in the very worst sense of the word) and simplistic, poorly thought through media announcements. Or perhaps we should blame those he calls his “advisors”.

Yesterday (H, 31/8)it was for Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens and Cessnock to from a “Hunter super council”.

Is this genuine local government? He compares it with Brisbane City Council. Has he compared Brisbane’s population base with his Hunter Council’s?

Or the differences between New South Wales’ and Queensland’s local government powers ? Would our public transport be a poisoned chalice?

Today (H, 1/9) it’s to fix the Adamstown rail crossing or close it.

In this case, he has filched one of Cr Tate’s favourite publicity media grabs, though his demands never made any difference. Nor I predict will Buman’s.

Is this an opening salvo for a 2011 state election campaign? Has he seriously thought through the traffic flow implications?

And didn’t Cr Buman consistently say over the last Council term that rail issues were none of Council’s business?

LAZY COUNCILLORS WANT IT BOTH WAYS

GEE GIVE US A BREAK; COUNCIL CONSIDERS JULY HOLIDAY (HERALD, 1/09/09)

THE FOLLOWING IS A LETTER TO THE NRECASTLE HERALD IN RESPONSE THE ABOVE ARTICLE

After a week or so in office last year, Newcastle City Council, arrogantly, and in ignorance, decided to halve their meeting load. This is despite having a new general manager to advise them with relatively little local government background and with 10 out of the 13 councillors having little or no background or experience.
Now they want a mid-year break. Has it occurred to them that the main reason they a paid a higher fee than most other councils in NSW is their greater workload? Only Sydney City Councillors are paid more. They appear to want it both ways.

CR BOYD INCORRECT IN HIS ASSURANCES ABOUT A FINAL DECISION ON THE RAIL LINE TO NEWCASTLE

Cr Boyd’s letter (H, 27/7) correctly claimed that on Dec 2, 2008, Council unanimously resolved not to agree to any change in the existing transport modes until the State government implemented an integrated public transport system in Newcastle.
Unfortunately that decision was overridden by Council’s decision on June 16 (supported by Cr Boyd) to endorse the HDC Report’s “City Revitalisation” recommendations, including cutting of the rail line to Newcastle and a strategy for an integrated transport system, which must be based on the line being cut. The line may stay until the strategy is implemented. Council nevertheless supports its removal.
This decision, supported by the conservative bloc (including Cr Boyd) was made without any planning report or public submissions. The majority of councillors, including Cr Boyd, endorsed the June decision last Tuesday by voting against a motion to rescind that resolution.

WHO SHOULD BE NEWCASTLE COUNCIL'S SPOKESPERSON ON POLICY? CERTAINLY NOT THE GENERAL MANAGER

It was great that ABC National Radio broadcast their program AM from Stockton today. Why, however, was Newcastle Council GM Lindy Hyam , rather than Lord Mayor John Tate interviewed as spokesperson on Council policies? Why didn’t Ms Hyam suggest him as the appropriate interviewee and what will Cr Tate and councillors do to rectify this? Her ideas about Newcastle initiatives for a more sustainable city appeared to be eminently supportable. However, the ABC announcer’s claim that Newcastle City Council supports an increase in coal production and export was incorrect. It’s a pity she didn’t correct this. One would expect that Cr Tate would have corrected this error.

THE ABOVE LETTER TO THE EDITOR (NEWCASTLE HERALD) WAS SENT TODAY.IT HIGHLIGHTS THE OLD PROBLEM OF GENERAL MANAGERS SEEKING TO ACT AS SPOKESPERSON ON POLICY MATTERS AND TOO OFTEN THEY GET AWAY WITH IT, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE QUICK TO REACT (OFTEN PUBLICLY) IF MAYORS OR COUNCILLORS MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT THEIR DOMAIN-OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT.THIS INSTANCE MAY BE EXCUSED AS GM INEXPERIENCE-TIME WILL TELL.

IT ALSO RAISES THE QUESTION OF WHAT LORD MAYOR TATE WOULD HAVE SAID IN DEFENCE OF NEWCASTLE COUNCIL POLICY OPPOSING MORE COAL MINING, GIVEN HIS PERSONAL SUPPORT FOR IT.
AFTER 28 YEARS AS A COUNCILLOR AND 5 GENERAL MANAGERS HE SHOULD BE AWARE AND SWIFT TO RESPOND TO INAPPROPRIATE ACTIONS FROM COUNCIL MANAGEMENT.
BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF HIS ACTIONS OVER THE PAST 2 MAYORAL TERMS ,NOTHING WILL HAPPEN IN MY VIEW.
MAYORS AND COUNCILS THAT ALLOW GENERAL MANAGERS TO RUN THE SHOW, EITHER BECAUSE OF LACK OF KNOWLEDGE (10 NEW COUNCILLORS) OR MAYORAL LAZINESS (THE BUCK ALWAYS STOPS WITH THE MAYOR AS LEADER) ARE DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVE.

REMEMBER THE MAJOR HERALD ARTICLE DURING THE LAST TERM(C 2005),WHICH FEATURED THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE LEADERS WHO RAN THE CITY? GENERAL MANAGER JANET DORE WAS ONE BUT LORD MAYOR TATE WAS MISSING.TATE'S RESPONSE TO CALLS FROM (THEN)GREENS CR MCKENZIE TO ASSERT HIMSELF AND COMPLAIN WAS TO DO NOTHING.THAT'S WAS INDICATIVE OF COUNCIL LEADERSHIP SINCE 1999.

Published as a Short take; Newcastle Herald, 11/08/09.

COUNCIL'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY MEETING

Last night (July 30), Newcastle City Council commemorated its sesquicentenary of local government, as the second oldest council in NSW (after Sydney, incorporated in 1842).

Former Greens councillor John Sutton is authoring an opinion piece for the Herald on the demise of local government in terms of planning powers across the State as well as problems particular to Newcastle with its newly elected Council; and newly appointed general manager and senior management.
I will place it on my blog when it is published.

John Sutton (councillor 1991-99) recently described the new Council in the Herald as the most anti-community council in his memory. I wholeheartedly agree.

My comments relate to some other aspects of this stitched together commemoration.
I recall after the 1997 Shortland Bicentenary, former councillor Margaret Henry and I raised the issue of the need for forward planning for the 2004 Bicentenary of Newcastle as a permanent European settlement (“Menzies Bicentenary”); and for the 2009 sesquicentenary of Newcastle Council (Borough 1859, later Municipal, City from 1885,Greater Newcastle 1938 and Lord Mayoralty 1948).

There was very little forward planning for the 2004 event and even less for the 2009 event, despite urging in past councils by Ms Henry and me.

In 2004,A published history was to be a major initiative for the Menzies Bicentenary. The long overdue comprehensive professional social history of Newcastle (probably the only major city in Australia NOT to have one) morphed into a last minute token document – a book which was excellent for school projects and tourists, but hopelessly inadequate as a comprehensive history. It wasn’t the fault of the eminent historian hired to do the project. Council’s inadequate funding and timing meant it would never be what was originally envisaged.

As a token gesture of atonement, the 2004-08 Council agreed to my inserting the history project in the 2005-2010 Community Plan (which ends in less than a year). What a pity the project wasn’t identified as a commemorative item for this year’s sesquicentenary.

The extraordinary Council meeting was an anti-climax. Yet another master plan for revitalisation for the CBD was endorsed, incorporating many strategies already approved, like the Perkins St “sesquicentenary toilet block and bus shelter” (money has been available ($250,000 from the Silk House development approval) since 2006) and the area has been without a toilet since it was demolished about 7 months ago.

Another “commemorative” strategy is the reopening of traffic into the Mall, an idea based on flim flam arguments and an outrageous waste of over $320,000 of ratepayers’ money.

There are a few positive initiatives:

• A lookout at Blue Gum Hills Regional Park on Council land to be eventually handed over the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is a great idea but who will pay?
Another problem is the views on offer: Summerhill Dump in one direction and in another,the gross overdevelopment of the former Dan lands (the handiwork of former, unlamented Planning Minister Frank Sartor, using his infamous Part 3A powers and warmly supported by Lord Mayor Tate and Cr (now MP for Wallsend) Sonia Hornery
• A work of art for Newcastle Region Art gallery by an indigenous artist.
• A stunning suite of photographs of Newcastle, its topography & landmarks by Professor Allan Chawner, recently opened at Newcastle Region Library (on June 4-the exhibition is now closed).There was a large crowd in attendance, but apart from the Lord Mayor, only 2 ward councillors (outnumbered by 3 former councillors) turned up. I know well that councillors can’t attend every event and 2 were away but 2 out of 12 ward councillors in attendance sent a very negative message about councillors’ priorities.
• A piece of commemorative music, “A slender strand of memories” by Colin Spiers, to be launched in November (?).A preview was held at the photo exhibition.

Before we get too excited about implementation of the commemoration initiatives, remember that the monument suggested by Doug Lithgow (Parks & Playgrounds Movement)and agreed to by the last council, to commemorate the 2004 Bicentenary is still on the drawing board, 5 years later. Will we ever see it?
Then there’s the restoration appeal for the monument on the graves of James Hannell (ironically, our first mayor in 1859) & his family in Cathedral Park. The monument has disappeared and has been replaced by a stone tablet saying “watch this space” (or words to that effect).It’s 7 years on and we’re still watching.

How about finishing off those projects first?