Parramatta Council is planning to replace real grass with synthetic grass in four of its parks - and the Parramatta Greens are sounding the alarm.
Greens Councillor Phil Bradley says fake grass is much hotter and is bad for the environment.
“Synthetic turf parks are made from non-recyclable plastic and shed microplastics,” Councillor Bradley says. “We can’t let them be rolled out across Parramatta.”
The council is planning to lay synthetic grass on playing fields at Old Saleyards Reserve in North Parramatta, Acacia Park in Telopea, FS Garside Park in Granville and Robin Thomas Reserve in Parramatta.
.. to pageParramatta Council passed the following motion, which was supported by all but Councillors who are Liberal Party members.
Subject: Notice of Motion for 12 July 2021 Council - Probity Checks for Chair, Alternate Chairs and Independent Experts for the City of Parramatta Local Planning Panel
MOTION
That Council write to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces the Hon. Rob Stokes MP referring to his letter IRF 21/584 and asking if the probity checks also included whether the statutory declarations of each chair and expert also declared they were not a close relative or associate of a property developer or real estate agent, and if not, recommending to the Minister that this be done as soon as possible.
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Investigation into the Queensland GasFields Commission in 2019 - Doubt was cast over whether the "process adequately manages coal seam gas activities in areas of regional interest".
.. to pageLabor supported the Greens Amendments to allow the vote to be passed in the Upper House of Parliament. The Liberals and Nationals members voted against the ban.
Council elections and politics can attract interesting and "colourful" candidates, who may prefer not to publicly highlight their associations with developer interests. This article refers liberal party council pre-selection nominations in the federal electorate of Cook, Scott Morrison's seat. On June 24th 2021, the NSW upper house voted to ban property developers serving as councillors.
.. to pageThe government wants to bulldoze the Willow Grove Heritage house to make way for the new Museum to be built on the banks of the Parramatta River. The North Parramatta Residents Action Group opposes the suitability of the site.
This started with a proposal to move the Ultimo Powerhouse Museum here. The case against is summarized here made so little sense, that the only reason for the move appeared to be a setup for land-grab by developers, as high rise estate redevelopment in Sydney is worth hundreds of millions. Now the original site is to be revamped, the ultimo museum is to stay where it is, and a new additional facility is planned to open on the same proposed site in Parramatta. The original site is to get a $500 million dollar "facelift". The Parramatta site is likely to be subject to increased flooding risks due to climate change.
Media Release:
Students won landmark climate case. In global first, Minister has duty of care to protect young people from Climate Change
SYDNEY MAY 27, 2021: Eight high school students have welcomed today’s landmark judgment in the Federal Court of Australia that found the Federal Environment Minister has a duty of care not to cause them harm from climate change.
With Parramatta growing at a rapid rate, Greens MP David Shoebridge says now is a crucial time to elect more Greens to Parramatta Council.
"Parramatta Council seriously needs more Greens, to ensure the public, and not just property developers, benefit from the building boom,” he says."Whether it is protecting irreplaceable heritage, ensuring core services get to those in need, or restraining over-development, there is so much work for this team to do on Parramatta Council. "Greens on council are a voice for the community and a sure vote in favour of more green open space and protection of the environment.”
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Physicist Dr Matt Palmer will be the Greens’ lead candidate for Parramatta’s Epping Ward in the September 4 council elections. Having lived in one of Epping’s many recently built apartment blocks for the past three years, Matt understands the issues facing local residents. “I am concerned to see many more residential developments planned in the area, in the absence of an accompanying plan for improving the subsequent traffic and school overcrowding,” Matt says. “In Epping, we need to keep these developments in check. The vision for Epping should be of a friendly, green, airy suburb that is attractive and welcoming to visitors and residents alike, and somewhere healthy for kids to grow up.
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The Parramatta Greens today announced the first three of their lead candidates for the City of Parramatta Council Election on 4 September 2021. Our first three lead candidates will be Councillor Phil Bradley, Franceska Strano, and Greg Edwards. Phil will re-contest Parramatta Ward, Franceska will run in Rosehill Ward, and Greg in North Rocks Ward.
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Elizabeth Farrelly with latest on how too much grand development plans for Sydney get in the way of good living.
ABC's Big Ideas podcast, from Judith Brett, Emeritus Professor, Latrobe University. Author of book 'The Coal Curse'. Australian government has been overly preoccupied with mining resource wealth, with serious neglect of very important issues for environment, society, employment resilience and climate.
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Australia is facing an environmental, social and economic crisis.
We are in a climate emergency. The science is in and it is clear – we must urgently move to a zero carbon society. Yet our government continues to expand rather than phase out the biggest source of climate pollution: the mining, burning and exporting of coal, oil and gas.
To make matters worse, too many of us are not getting a fair go: studying hard and completing university or TAFE too often ends in underemployment, job insecurity and low pay. And, if you’re lucky enough to land a good job, chances are you still can’t afford a house because the government has rigged the housing market against you.
Its just as well that the Greens have a Recovery Plan
Australian Politicians cannot say no to new gas fracking and new coal projects, while large numbers of Australian people are saying no to them. The obvious conflicts of interest between people and government are here now.
Only the advanced corruption of government riddled with cancerous cash
for exploitation, is capable of going against the plain simple
scientific obviously truth. Australian government politicians are not genuine people-representative politicians, they are running wholesale shopping outlets for mining corporations,
with the staff on the cash registers being seduced as the future employees of the
mining corporations. This is an illegal and immoral government, with its head in the greenhouse gas fumes.
Climate change is already killing us and will continue to cause more deaths in Australia if we don’t mitigate the growing emergency, the Australian Medical Association has warned.
Both are holding copies of the ACOSS report.
From Phil Bradley's press release as a Parramatta Councilor on 23rd July 2019
The Parramatta Greens wholeheartedly support ACOSS in its call for an urgent $75/wk increase in Newstart from an abysmal $277/wk or $282/wk with the Energy Supplement. This is now nearly 40% below the poverty line. Along with an increase in related allowances, data analysis by Deloitte for the City of Parramatta LGA has estimated that these benefit increases would give a local spending boost of at least $23.5 million each year.
.. to pageThere is something particularly wrong with the NSW "Independent Planning Commision" - IPC , if they really need to be asked to reflect the latest climate science, when assessing cases for new coal and gas mining, in the context of everyone on this planet having a desperate need to rapidly cut all global carbon emissions. If they are truely independent, why do they need to be asked?
The NSW Greens know where the climate science is at, as they have repeatedly asked the NSW government to act as if climate change is real, while Australia continues to export it to the world. The Greens have asked NSW government should update the terms of reference to the IPC to take this into account. After all, a recent Environment Justice Court Case specifically cited "climate change considerations", as a good reason to reject a new mine. So should the IPC.
the Rocky Hill coal mine would increase global greenhouse gas emissions "at a time when what is now urgently needed ... is a rapid and deep decrease in GHG emission. --- Justice Brian Preston
Heat is Australia’s number one natural killer. During a heatwave hospitalisations surge, power bills skyrocket, infrastructure breaks down, and traffic worsens. This all-encompassing issue requires an all-of-government approach which is why heat should be a Premier’s Priority following the 2019 NSW Election.
Heat is a particular issue for Western Sydney, where temperatures can be more than 10 degrees hotter than the CBD, and energy usage for cooling 100 per cent higher. In December 2018, WSROC released its Turn Down the Heat Strategy; the first multi-sector approach to heat mitigation in Western Sydney. However, heat impacts all communities and we see a clear role for the NSW Government to champion this multi-faceted issue across NSW as a whole.
Making heat a NSW Premier’s Priority would give all government agencies a clear mandate to tackle the impacts of heat in their own domain, whether this be health, transport, energy, infrastructure or planning. It would also ensure a coordinated approach to this far-reaching challenge.
Summer is always going to be hot in Australia, however there are things we can do to mitigate heat and reduce its impact on our communities.
WSROC’s strategy outlines potential for better collaboration, cooling through greenspace and water, heat-mitigating urban design, more resilient infrastructure, and ensuring communities have the knowledge to protect themselves and others from heat stress.
We must look at building codes that enforce heat-resilient design and reduce the need for air-conditioning; reducing both household power bills and pressure on our energy grid. This might include increased requirements for greenspace, tree cover and cool materials, as well as tapping the natural cooling power of water and wind.
Reviewing the capacity of our infrastructure such as roads, rail and energy to cope with extreme heat is also critical. We must ensure that these services are available when communities need them most.
Empowering communities to take local action is key. Australians have a wonderful ability to lend a hand during times of bushfire or storms, however heat is often referred to as the ‘silent killer’ because its impacts can’t be seen. Heat resilience includes ensuring our communities know how to keep themselves safe and check in on neighbours and loved ones who may need help.
Most importantly, we must work collaboratively to ensure efficient and effective use of resources. Together we can build a cooler, more resilient future.
WSROC - President Cr Barry Calvert
A copy of WSROC’s Turn Down the Heat Strategy is available here.
No solutions in sight, for extreme costs of living in Sydney. Although Sydney's average house price fell by 9.7 percent, and rental costs have dropped just a tiny bit, they are still unaffordable for people on average incomes. Despite election promises of targeted measures to some limited categories of people, there is not much discussion on the causes - due to growth overshoot and overdevelopment of size and scale. Sydney is stuffed, with over-extended suburbs, population pressure, public transport struggling to provide services, and rising utility costs of energy, water and transport, while wage growth is non-existent.
Meanwhile the government still allows coal mining under Sydney water catchment areas, which leads to a permanent reduction in their "water catching" abilities. Growing extreme heat every summer is making everyone a little crosser, especially in the outer west. Sydney's "cost of living" isn't only what we pay, but also what we add to our global heating predicament. Global heating is getting worse, and the NSW government is still stuck in maintaining our overall fossil fuel energy dependence, pushing harmful coal and coal seam gas mining, and the NSW fleet of aging, failing gas and coal power stations.
Sydney's expensive water desalination plant has been switched on for the first time in seven years, because of ongoing heat, drought and falling water levels in Sydney dams. At peak output it will supply about 15% of Sydney's drinking water requirements, and add about $30.00 your annual water bills.
The end result of all these trends, is a growing squeeze on the health and well being of those that choose to stay in Sydney. Sydney still ranks high in "quality of living" in global city rankings, but only while you can afford it.
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Greens4Parramatta - Greens Councilor Phil Bradley
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Jobs and funding for Nature
Protect and Restore Nature
Greens plan for a renewable economy
Needed Australian Environment protections
There isn't affordable housing in the Parramatta Local Government Area
There is no provision for it in Parramatta Council Planning.
This leads to very high rentals, unaffordable for people in ordinary occupations.