Council promotes new face of business community:
Motion to Ashfield Council

Cr Dr Marc Rerceretnam

Since 2005/6 the Ashfield Town Centre has undergone a considerable clean up and is experiencing an on-going process of social and economic rejuvenation.

The clientele in the Ashfield Town Centre has changed considerably since 2006, with business owners reporting a diversification of customers, and according to the 2007 Chinese Migrant Welfare Association survey, a corresponding increase in business activity by approximately 40 percent.
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Notice of Motion to Ashfield Council

On the 19th of May 2008, Australian Climate Change expert Prof Tim Flannery told a business forum in Canberra that forecasts for climate change is much worse than he thought three years ago when he wrote his now famous book “Weather Makers”.

Prof Flannery emphasised that regardless of what happened to emissions in the future there’s “already far to much greenhouse gas in the atmosphere” and “the current burden of greenhouse gas.is more than sufficient to cause catastrophic climate change”.

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Notice of Motion to Ashfield Council

Cr Marc Rerceretnam

In May 2008 Ecotransit Sydney launched a campaign to have a current light rail service which terminates at Lilyfield, extended to Dulwich Hill along the presently disused Rozelle goods line.

This proposal has the potential to service the communities of Leichhardt, Haberfield, Summer Hill, Lewisham and Dulwich Hill.  The estimated cost is below $50m which will provide 6 kilometres of high quality public transport to various Inner West neighbourhoods. (Econtransit, May 2008).

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Motion to Ashfield Council.

Cr Dr Marc Rerceretnam
April 2008

The Ashfield municipal council area is fortunate to be located along a public transport corridor. However accessibility to public transport nodes is a problem for many residents who may live out of walking distance to a train station or a central bus stop.

One option is for local commuters to cycle to these transport nodes, park their bicycles there and hop on a bus or train. This would mean they wouldn’t have to drive or in the worse case scenario, drive and park in these already car parking deprived areas.
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Motion to Ashfield Council.
Cr Marc Rerceretnam, Hawkins, Dale.

Homeworkers, predominantly women, make clothes at home in Australia for as little as $3 to $4 an hour. According to Fairwear, most work up to 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. These homeworkers make clothes for major retailers, designers and in many cases suppliers of school uniforms. Fairwear estimates there are 300,000 outworkers in Australia.

Presently exploitation is common in the clothing and fashion industry, but now consumers, entreprises and even Local Government can play a role in supporting ethical manufacturing practices in Australia.
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Notice of Motion
Ashfield Council Says No to NSW Electricity Sell Off
Moved by Cr Dale, Rerceretnam & Hawkins
Ashfield Council Meeting 25 March 2008

(click here to go to the Council Meeting minutes)

Preamble

As councillors are well aware, the NSW State Government is rapidly moving to privatize NSW’s publicly owned electricity retailers and to enter into long term leases of the state’s generators.

This is being done despite considerable opposition from the community and trade union movement. It is also being done despite considerable opposition from within the ALP’s own branch structures and amongst it’s rank and file membership.

Clearly there are major environmental, industrial and consumer implications arising from the sell-off (please refer to the union and community campaign web site @ www.stoptheselloff.org for more information on this issue).

It is a short sighted move by the NSW Government which is simply designed to deliver a substantial sum of money ( a short term gain) to enable the Government to progress a range of infrastructure projects inclusive of the M4 East.

The Greens believe that Ashfield council should join a number of other NSW Councils in opposing the proposed sale, especially as a sell-off will impact on electricity affordability for our residents and for council as an energy consumer. We seek a bi-partisan approach to this issue recognizing that this matter cuts across party lines.

Accordingly we move that:

1.. Ashfield Council opposes in the strongest terms the NSW Government’s plans to privatise NSW’s publicly-owned electricity retailers and enter into
long term leases of the state’s generators.

2. Council notes that privatisation would:

*weaken the ability of the people of NSW to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and urgently respond to climate change,

*result in job losses and reduce working conditions in the electricity industry,

* increase financial hardship for consumers and in particular for low income households and pensioners,

*reduce state revenues by at least $1 billion per annum, as profits are shifted from the public purse to private corporations and

*destroy public control over essential energy assets.

3. Council also believes that privatisation would impact severely on local government as major electricity consumers.

4.Council calls on the NSW Government to better manage NSW’s future energy needs and take urgent action in response to climate change by investing in
energy efficiency in homes and businesses and increasing its renewable energy targets.

5. The General Manager urgently convey this motion to the NSW Premier Morris Iemma and Treasurer Michael Costa; the NSW Local Government Association,
all State MPs and MLCs, Unions NSW and the Total Environment Centre.

6.. The reasons for Council opposing the sell-off are to be widely advertised including in local newspapers, on the Council website and by media
release.

Notice of Motion

Community Gardens for Ashfield

Moved by Cr Dale, Hawkins & Rerceretnam
Ashfield Council Meeting 25 March 2008

(click here to read the council minutes for this motion)

Preamble

Councillors may be aware that just prior to last Christmas, Marrickville Council was making news for developing a community gardens plan and policy. Attachment One “Now You Can really veg out in the Park”  is taken from the Sydney Morning Herald and provides a description of community garden developments in the adjoining Marrickville Council area.

As this article makes clear, the community garden movement has started to make inroads into a number of metropolitan council areas including but not limited to: the City of Sydney, Leichardt, Hurstville, Kogarah, Manly, Randwick, Sutherland Shire, Waverley and Willoughby.

Attachment 2, provides details on community gardens in the City of Sydney. This attachment also provides an excellent description of what constitutes a community garden and what are the objectives/benefits of developing a community garden.

As councillors should be aware, community gardens are an established feature of many densely populated European and North American cities, where public lands are scarce and opportunities for collective community interactions limited.

A quick scan of the web also reveals numerous community garden websites, networks and associations.

In short, community gardens provide numerous community, social and environmental benefits. They enable communities to come together in a collective gardening effort,  they provide opportunities for fruit and vegetables to be grown locally, and they provide a range of teaching and learning opportunities for our children. Furthermore, these gardens promote self sufficiency and an array of sustainability practices. Doubtless, they could also help to break down much of the isolation which is experienced by some residents in our community.

Community Gardens for Ashfield

Clearly, there are very few public spaces available within Ashfield for the establishment of some community gardens. This motion DOES NOT advocate the replacement of existing public parkland with community garden initiatives. HOWEVER, it is the view of the Greens, that some opportunities may exist for community garden developments and that we should seek to explore all possibilities/strategies. One possibility may be disused land along Frederick Street which currently cannot be developed because of potential road widening.  An approach could be made to the RTA to enable such lands to be utilized as community gardens until such time as any road widening proceeds.

Those pocket parks which have fallen into disarray or which are under utilized, lands wedged around apartment blocks, common blocks etc could all provide opportunities for the development of community gardens.

Further, the Greens believe there could also be some synergies between this proposal and the strategies which are now emerging as a consequence of the sustainability streets initiatives which has been funded by council’s environmental levy.

We subsequently propose that council officers review developments in adjoining council areas and prepare a report on the possibilities for community garden developments in Ashfield. We also seek council commitment towards the development of a community garden plan and policy. Finally, we request that council officers begin negotiations with the RTA and other State agencies around the possibility of establishing community gardens in disused lands which have been earmarked for road widening.

Strategic Plan 2006-2010:

The Greens believe this initiative to be consistent with the following vision and objectives of the Ashfield strategic plan:

Vision
A community which protects and enhances its native and existing flora and native fauna and contributes to the wider responsibilities for the whole community to preserve the earth’s environment

Objectives
1)    Integrate environmental and sustainability considerations into Council’s operations, regulations, policies and programs
2)    Promote a better understanding of environmental issues amongst our staff, Councillors and all members of the community.

Attachments:

Attachment One – Sydney Morning Herald article 21-23 December 2007
Attachment Two – City of Sydney website on community gardens

Motion:

Accordingly I move that:

1)   Council officers provide a report back to council on opportunities for the development of community gardens in Ashfield;

2)That in developing this report, officers review community garden developments in other local government areas both domestically and internationally;

3) That pending the outcome of this review, council resolve to develop a community garden plan and policy;

4)  That council officers advice on the possibility of negotiating with the RTA and other State Agencies to secure utilization of unused lands for community gardens purposes;

5)  That the above mentioned report be distributed to councillors no later than June 2008.

Notice of Motion to Ashfield Council.

Cr Marc Rerceretnam
March 2008

Local business representatives and tour bus operators, keen on promoting tourism, have asked Ashfield Council to provide designated tour bus rest/parking zones close to the Ashfield CBD.  To date these have not been made available.
Tourist buses bring shoppers and business into Ashfield, encouraging the purchase of local specialist retail supplies and attracting lunch and evening diners to sample the Asian and other international cuisines, offered by our unique local restaurants.  The use of bus transportation is an environmentally sustainable alternative to the use of private vehicles.
At present any private tour bus operator can park up to one hour at any bus stop however bus stops in the CBD are intended for very brief set down and pick up only - not for stays of up to one hour.
The Ashfield Council Traffic Committee has in principle supported the need to identify places for private buses to park. In order to address the need for alternate parking for private buses, Council officers have been requested to recommend suitable sites.  To date no site has been identified.  This has been an ongoing project which needs temporary solutions whilst a long term solution is found.

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