Councillor Chris Harris

Sydney’s transport future is the issue du jour now Chris Stapleton and the ‘10,000 friends of Sydney’ have started releasing their strategy.

I support the Stapleton vision because it’s far superior to the government’s feeble Transport Plan.

However it limits itself to current funding levels. That’s a straightjacket in some respects, for instance in settling for frequent buses to serve Sydney’s northwest instead of the planned heavy rail link to Rouse Hill.

Buses would be far less greenhouse-efficient than electric trains, especially if Sydney’s power was being generated by the Solar Thermal plant I have proposed.

The Greens Transport Vision proposes Public Transport Bonds to finance a fully fledged system for Sydney, built on solid spines of metro and heavy rail with buses mostly deployed to fill the gaps.

Yes, this means debt, but this kind of debt carries a far lower interest burden than private finance and can be repaid over several generations just like the 75-year-old Harbour Bridge was. This is not an unfair burden on our grandchildren as they will be enjoying not only the economic benefits of a world-class system but an environmental dividend as well.

This week Senator Kerry Nettle introduced The Marriage (Relationships Equality) Amendment Bill 2007 into the Senate. The bill aims to remove discrimination and to permit marriage regardless of sexuality and gender identity.

The new definition of marriage is “the union of two persons, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity, voluntarily entered into for life.” Existing discrimination must be overturned because freedom of sexuality and gender identity are fundamental human rights, and acceptance and celebration of diversity are essential for genuine social justice and equality.

Such discrimination is also a significant cause of psychological distress and the Greens think it is essential to alleviate such serious health concerns wherever possible.

Clover Moore is leading her election campaign with a slogan that attempts to gloss over the problems of holding down two fulltime jobs at once.

In fact, splitting oneself in two as State Member and Lord Mayor is a half-and-half proposition because there are only so many hours in a day. So Ms Moore’s slogan ‘twice as effective’ does not ring true. At best it means more and more of the work is done second-hand by support staff who themselves require management and time, and personal communication is replaced by an immense PR output.

But more serious than this is an inherent conflict of interest that does damage to democracy itself: If someone in your street has an ongoing problem with Council, they should be able to appeal to their local member. This is no longer possible as our Lord Mayor and State member are one and the same person.

For this reason Chris Harris, if elected, will not seek a second term as councillor when his term expires.