Councillor Chris Harris

On behalf of The Greens I will introduce a Notice of Motion to the City of Sydney Council on Monday 1st September 2008 in order to increase the compliance monitoring of late night premises in the late night entertainment hotspots of the City.

It is clear that there are owners of pubs, nightclubs and bars who are eager to make big profits out of the service of as much alcohol as they can serve to patrons but who are reluctant to do so in a responsible manner. Such premises breach conditions of consent, fail to follow proper plans of management and are in breach of the law. The City of Sydney needs to be more active in pulling these operators into line and therefore needs an increased physical presence during the hours between midnight and 4am.

City Rangers will not be targeting patrons but rather they will be visiting premises during these late hours to ensure that late night premises, which are making large profits serving alcohol are doing so in accordance with what council had in mind when it approved the use. Rangers will be checking that premises are following conditions imposed by The City when approval was granted. This would include adequate security and good management of patron behaviour inside and outside the venue

The need for more compliance monitoring has become obvious from the increased number of complaints of violence and late night disturbances by patrons who have been served too much alcohol by late night venue operators. This extra Ranger presence will be on Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights and will involve extra expenditure by council. I think this is more than justified.

I have spoken to members of the Gay & lesbian Community for example who have told me that they just don’t bother visiting some areas of Oxford St and Kings Cross late at night any more because they feel it is unsafe.

Better compliance will lead to better management of premises, earlier identification of patrons who should not be served more alcohol and a decrease in acts of violence after hours.

It is important to understand that City Rangers do not have the powers vested in police – however  they will be working in cooperation with local police and will be able to contact police when their attendance is required eg breaches in the law relating to responsible service of alcohol.

The Greens want to ensure that people can have fun during a late night out on the town without being subjected to violence and creating unreasonable disturbance to others. Council’s actions can improve the management of late night premises and the safety of those who want to say out late and have a great time.  
 
Notice of Motion

Greens Cr Chris Harris
 
1st September 2008
 
 
1. That council increase the number of compliance staff patrolling the Darlinghurst/Kings Cross/Potts Point/Rushcutters Bay entertainment area, the Oxford St late night entertainment area and problem areas of the City and The Rocks as follows:
 
a) Two officers operating together to patrol the designated areas between the hours of 8pm - 4am on  Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
b) Officers to be well acquainted with conditions of consent and plans of management of individual premises particularly those premises serving alcohol to larger numbers of patrons and particularly in premises that have generated complaints.
c) Particular areas of focus to include noise, approved patron numbers, footpath queueing and consumption of alcohol outside of premises
d) Note to be taken of breaches of the law relating to responsible service of alcohol and for this to be promptly communicated to police at the relevant Local Area Command
 
2. Council notes that compliance staff do not have the powers of police and that the focus of compliance staff is to enforce conditions of consent that apply to operators of premises that are serving alcohol.
 
3. Council notes that patron behaviour is the responsibility of the operator of the premises and that enforcement action is directed to the operator and not patrons.
 
4. Council notes that breaches of the criminal law are beyond the jurisdiction of compliance staff. However compliance staff are encouraged to work with police to report criminal breaches; compliance staff will also be in a position to provide evidence in court proceedings should that be necessary.
 
5. That this increased compliance regime be implemented for a trial period of 12 months, that the City seek the cooperation of and coordination with local police and that an evaluation be reported back to the relevant council committee for discussion and public input.

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 recent launch of the City of Sydney Library’s GLBTIQ Collection at Newtown Library was an auspicious occasion, especially for a Greens Councillor.

It was an honour to say a few words and cut the cake at the launch which was the culmination of much inspiration and dedication by many people committed to highlighting and recording issues relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer communities. It was great to be in the company of people passionate about the Collection like John Witte, Secretary of the Pride History Group, Dorothy McRae McMahon, editor of the South Sydney Herald, and historians Garry Wotherspoon and Gary Simes at the launch.

The Collection, which at present includes more than 450 items of fiction, non-fiction, reference and audio-visual items, was made possible by a $35,000 open grant from the State Library of NSW - Kathleen Bresnehan graciously represented the State Library at the launch. Many items in the collection were generously donated by Larry Galbraith. The project ultimately aims to purchase about 1000 items. The collection covers a broad range of topics ranging from same-sex parenting, sexual and gender identity, art, history, economics, politics and also teen fiction.

The City of Sydney Library aims to develop a fully-fledged GLBTIQ public events program to provide an accessible space to raise awareness and educate the larger community and strengthen partnerships within GLBTIQ organisations.

Newtown, which is increasingly called “home” by Sydney’s GLBTIQ community, is a perfect location for the Collection, but items can also be borrowed from Surry Hills and Kings Cross and are also searchable in the online library catalogue, through Libraries Australia and inter-library loans.

Around 80 Greens joined a record 8,000 marchers in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras last Saturday night.

As usual it was a fabulous night marked by huge crowds in party mode enjoying a pervading spirit of tolerance and friendliness. It’s the one night of the year where not only participants but also many of the crowd shed their inhibitions and wear ANYTHING they like with spectacular results.

The Greens’ float echoed many others in the parade with its theme of “Full equality - No excuses”, a particular reference to the continuing discrimination against same-sex couples who wish to marry.

Elected Greens strutting their stuff included MLCs Lee Rhiannon and Sylvia Hale, Senator Kerry Nettle, Fiona Byrne and Chris Harris along with upper house candidate John Kaye and candidates from several seats in Sydney.

Pictured is Chris Harris and marchers from other floats watching the passing parade. Click on to see some more pictures. Read the rest of this entry »

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.