Councillor Chris Harris

What a fine to-do when a Lord Mayor condones her chauffeur’s illegal parking while presiding over a council that last year used undercover rangers to catch and fine parents for parking illegally when dropping their children at school.

Clover Moore’s chauffeur was reportedly fined and spotted on several occasions by Channel 7 double parking, locking and leaving the car while he went to fetch the boss from her house.

It is reported that Clover did offer to pay the fine but also admonished the chauffeur for the misdemeanour which is a bit rich after allowing it to happen on several occasions without comment.

View a video of the crime scene at the following link

The Crime Scene

The following questions asked in Parliament by Greens MLC, Sylvia Hale, will hopefully sort out the spin from the substance regarding the proposed affordable housing project in Glebe.  Answers will be provided on June 17.

Sylvia and I collaborated on the questions after I raised concerns about the misleading manner in which this project was announced. That story can be seen on this website under the heading:

Lord Mayor and CEO Mislead Public and Councillors on Affordable Housing.
 http://www.chrisharris.org.au/2008/05/28/lord-mayor-and-ceo-mislead-public-and-councillors-on-affordable-housing/#more-368

1741—GLEBE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT
Ms Hale to the Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Energy, Minister for Mineral Resources, and Minister for State Development representing the Minister for Housing, Minister for Tourism—

In relation to the Glebe Affordable Housing project as proposed by Sydney City Council and the State Government
 1.  
    1. How many Department of Housing dwellings are to be demolished?
    2. How many Department of Housing dwellings  are to be created?
       1.  Will this result in a net loss or net gain of units?
       2.  How many units will be lost/gained?

2. How will new affordable housing units be managed?
      1.  Which organisation or agency will manage them?

3. If the affordable housing creates a revenue stream, will it be reinvested into more  affordable housing?  

    1.  If so, will this be in Glebe, or in another area?
    2.  If not, why not?

4. What does “private housing sales” mean?

5. How many of the 700 forecasted dwellings will be “private housing sales”?

6. Will there be caveats on any resale to maintain long-term affordability?

7. Given this is public land will the “private housing” purchasers be able to sell for a capital gain, or will there be conditions placed on resale, for example caveats, to maintain affordability?
   1.  If not, what restrictions, if any, are attached to these “private” dwellings?

8. Will there be any sales at market price?
    1. If so, what percentage of the total?

On behalf of The Greens I expressed my thanks and congratulations to the volunteers and the Board of The Luncheon Club. However the highest praise should be reserved for Carol Ann King who provided the inspiration behind the Luncheon Club with fifteen years of dedicated service in support of people living with and affected by HIV/Aids.

The Luncheon Club volunteers worked tirelessly fundraising, shopping, cooking and providing a unique service in Sydney. It’s quite inspiring when you see a non-government support service struggling with fundraising and service provision but overcoming the obstacles. The Luncheon Club struggled for 15 years providing many less well off members of the Sydney LGBTI community with essential services such as food items from the Luncheon Club’s pantry, a lovingly prepared lunch and some friendly company. There were times when meals had to be served in a car park in the rain but Carol and her team persisted.

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The Sydney Lord Mayor and the City of Sydney CEO misled City Councillors and the public when they announced an affordable housing project in Glebe as a done deal on 29th April. The deception was uncovered at council on Monday 12th May when the Lord Mayor sought council endorsement of an MOU that she had signed with the Minister for Housing.

Councillor Chris Harris said that councillors were asked to endorse an MOU where the City and the NSW Government would work together to merely ‘assess the potential of developing new affordable housing units’. However on 29th April the Lord Mayor announced a partnership ‘committing the City of Sydney and the NSW Government to develop affordable housing on a 3.6 hectare site in Glebe’ and further that ‘ the City of Sydney is contributing a site worth about $30M in inner Sydney’.

So in fact we don’t actually have an affordable housing project. We are merely having a look at it with the state government. The Lord Mayor has misinformed the public that the project is a done deal and that the City has committed the land and the truth is that this is not the case.

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Chris Harris has dismissed the draft Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 as falling well short of what is needed to provide adequate legislative protection for unit owners and long term tenants against unfair practices by non resident investors and developers.

The rapidly increasing number of people who live in apartments deserve more than the draft Bill is offering. Their apartment is their home and they want to have adequate control over their living conditions just like everyone else.

In a submission to the Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008, Clr Harris lists ineffective dispute resolution, barriers to the ability of executive committees to have building defects remedied and the lack of legislative assistance for executive committees to collect unpaid levies and sanction bad behaviour, as three major inadequacies of the present law. None of these shortcomings are addressed in the draft Bill.

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