OK tenuous link but I loved the guy! Our local council is up in arms, outraged, all flushed and flummoxed. Our butchly, busty, Mayor
Sonia is put-out, perturbed and positively petulant! She’s flashing her chain all over the local papers pushing her little agenda . . .which for the time being has had the breaks applied!
Due to their abysmal record in land development and the desperate need to open affordable land and housing in my neck of the woods - “the Northwest Sector” - the State Government has recommended a plebiscite (now there’s a nice old Roman term) to determine whether they should take over all development planning for the Shire.
(Yay, happy clapping in the background)
Why? Well God forbid, we might actually be able to organise the release of affordable land and housing as the rent crisis increases and families simply cannot afford the current inflated price of houseing. Who knows, it might happen within a year window instead of the usual 20 years it takes for this pathetic council to get it’s planning act together. . It has already had the North Kellyville development snatched from it’s grip by the Iemma Government as a penalty for slow processing and approvals so why not give the whole shebang to the State Government to divvy up as they see fit!
Now you all know I have a vested interest in this as I want to *hypocriticall* cut and run, with my fat little wads of kish bulging from my pockets – c’mon it’s my retirement fund! But there’s another issue at stake here too. Councils are notoriously self interested. All the counsellors in these chambers have businesses in the shire. All have their own personal agenda. They are from different political backgrounds so getting agreement is a dogs breakfast. Believe me, I’ve been to enough council meetings to see the abyssmal discussions, dismissals and eventual resignation of good public servants who can no longer work among this posse of incompetents.
So, now, every ratepayer is receiving a delightful little plebiscite flyer and an opportunity to tell the State Government how fabulous our dodgy council is, how wonderful they are at planning and how competent they are at cutting up parcels of land (like a 2 year old with a birthday cake and a spoon). How fair they are to developers, and last but not least, how worthy they are of golfing junkets in Wexford Ireland and Cootamundra our sister cities apparently. (I doubt there are many junkets to Cootamundra.)
So in a nutshell - these are the council's gripes:
The state government intends to take over money from developer levies for local services, facilities and infrastructureand hold onto it in the State Treasurey. There go the Cootamundra golf trips, Orange Blossom Festivals and pootles off to Ireland!
The State government want to dimissh and in some cases eliminate Local Government from the planning process and replace the authority of your local council and the Councillors you elected. with independent panels and private certifiers!
Yes they did say 'dimissh' which yet again reminded me of the intelligence and integrity of individual council members and I only voted because it was compulsory
Whackafuckindoo! At last, independent and unbiased assessment of property development with no developers pissing in their pockets or worse still, self interested councillors pushing their own agendas. . .
So will I be supporting local government planning? . . . Absolutely not. It was the downfall of Wollongong Council and will be the downfall of ours . . . the only crime of course . . .getting caught
OK tenuous link but I loved the guy!
9 comments:
Unbiased assessment of property development? I'll believe it when I see it. Most politicians are in cahoots with some dodgy individual or commercial enterprise so I wouldn't be too confident of their integrity! But maybe they'll be less biased than the local crew and all their neighbourhood vested interests.
What makes you think that if the local gub'mint has succumbed to graft that the sate gub'mint officials won't? Seems to me that they will be just as corrupt but at a higher level. I would rather have the decisions like that made locally.
An end to pork barrel politics?
Nice aspiration!
How big is your shire in relation to the State?
Same the world over it seems - It's not what you know but who you know and how much can you pay that gets your application approved!
Well, I would tell a joke about it but I changed my mind.
Nick: Yeh a pipe dream I know! What's worse is the current political division in council so getting them to agree is a major hassle. And they behave like babies in council meetings, storming off. I even went to one meeting where they shafted the public gallery so they could have a private spat! The next day the General Manager resigned!
Brianf: they're probably no better just a reduction in the number of corrupt participants. State government still has to approve Development Control Plans anyway so Council are just another part of the process. It's not about taking all their powers away, just development because their track record is so poor.
Ian: We're one of the biggest in the urban area. Also one of only 2 that has enough land for urban expansion so we've been targetted for more affordable housing by the NSW Govt.
Quickroute: sad but true. BHSC is one of the slowest in approving applications and makes some really silly planning decisions. Again, their town planner (public servant) resigned over their procrastination.
Ropi: You're funny!
Two things, Brian can't spell government - I mean like, what, was that word aborted in the womb or something? and secondly, your crew are replacing one form of bureaucratic nonsense government with another form of bureaucratic nonsense government.
Best kind of government?
Ochlocracy, rule by mob. No need for planning permission and what have you then.
Lol ... just kidding with the word thing ... but my second point holds.
Quangos like that can take their considerations to my finger and swivel on it.
I haven't read this post yet, but I just had to say how sorry I am about Keira. :( So sad to lose a dog. I have lost two in the past ten years and my heart will never be the same! Thoughts and hugs to you and BabyBro. I adore my dogs and don't know what I'd do without them.
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