The Biggest Edition of the Village Voice yet!

Despite significant local opposition, the NSW Government has changed the voting for future City of Sydney elections.

From 2016, any person or business owning, leasing or occupying land in the city will be made to vote, even if they are not residents.

Under the changes, corporations will be granted two votes, while residents will only get one.

The Friends of Erskineville opposed these changes, and together with other community groups and local residents, sent an open letter to the Premier calling on the government to reject the changes.  The Premier rejected these calls.

We believe it is now more important than ever to speak up and ensure that local voices are heard on the issues that matter to our community.

At the request of many residents in Malcolm, Ashmore and Binning Streets, FOE facilitated petitions and letters to Sydney Council advocating for the introduction of parking controls.  

Over coming weeks, Council will consult further with local residents with a view to implementing resident permit parking. 

If you would like FOE to help you raise a petition in your street to introduce parking permit parking, send us an email.

After 26 years of providing refuge for young women aged 14-18, the Lillian Howell Housing Project in Erskineville (also known as Lillian's) which lost its funding early in the year is still fighting to stay open.
 
Like many women's refuges, it was not successful in achieving funding through the  LNP government's new program 'Going Home Staying Home'.
 
Lillian's is run along feminist principles and was designed and built for the purpose of serving as a secure refuge. It provides long term housing for up to 8 young women at a time. There is 24 hour support and a safe environment for young women who have suffered abuse and neglect. It supports them in completing their education, gaining employment and into independent living. It is the only refuge of its kind in NSW.
 
Local resident Lin Cooper who worked at the refuge for many years and some recent residents spoke powerfully in defence Lillian's on ABC 7.30.
 
Chair of the Lillian's Board, Sally Fitzpatrick told the Friends of Erskineville, "The loss of such a service in the Sydney area will have a devastating effect, particularly on the girls currently housed in our program, as they could potentially be placed at risk if their holistic support network of housing, case management and counselling is taken away. It is imperative that our service remains open in the long term as our service is the only one of its kind in the region."

Although the service is due to close at the end of October, the group's supporters still believe they can save it. They have made spectacular banners and have a petition. You can sign ithere.

Lillian's is supported by the the NoShelter! collective which meets each Wednesday evening at the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. The collective organised a community rally in late August and is planning further actions. The group is open to anyone interested in campaigning against gendered violence.

State candidates for the seat of Newtown, Penny Sharpe (Labor, who is also currently the Shadow Transport Minister) and Jenny Leong (Greens) both support the campaign to save women's refuges, including Lillian's.

A petition of 14,000 signatures was presented to Labor and Greens parliamentarians on the steps of parliament in early August. The petition will ensure that there is a parliamentary debate about refuge closures, the transfer of successful refuges to big charities and sacking of specialist workers later in the year.

- Wendy Bacon

Bamal Way is a new way to get from Coulson Street to Sydney Park Road without walking around to Mitchell Road. Previously this public land between Sydney Park Village and the Verve & Xenix complexes had been fenced off and inaccessible.

With new landscaping, stairs and a ramp leading up to the footpath on Sydney Park Rd, this will make access to Sydney Park and St Peters station more direct for many residents.

However, there remains a serious problem with crossing Sydney Park Road.

Council has responded to residents' feedback by suggesting a tunnel or a pedestrian crossing, but no action has yet been taken to progress these.

- Andrew Chuter

Drilling for soil and rock samples at more than 12 sites around St Peters, Sydenham and Tempe will begin within the next two weeks according to Westconnex Chief Executive Dennis Cliche.

Mr Cliche says the purpose of the drilling is for preparation for the tender for the construction of Phase 2 of Westconnex.

Local residents have expressed concerns about where polluting exhaust stacks would be located.

But why do we need Westconnex at all? Per capita kilometres driven have fallen back to the levels of 20 years ago. The total amount of kilometres driven in Sydney have risen less than one per cent in the last decade. This means that Sydney’s traffic would actually have fallen dramatically if not for a 10 per cent population increase during that same time.

No community consultation has been conducted and planning has been ad hoc and minimal.

What Sydney needs is better planning, an integrated transport system with public transport - including both heavy and light rail - to take traffic off the roads.

- Kate Kennedy

Researchers from the University of Sydney, in collaboration with the City of Sydney Council, are attaching modified flowerpots to seawalls in Sydney Harbour as new homes for marine life.

Researchers are asking the community about their connections with Sydney Harbour and the coastal environment and would like to invite the community to be part of the study.

Interested residents can complete the researchers' surveyhere.

- Rebecca Morris, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney 

- Andrew Chuter

As debate rages on the Abbott Governments prospects of changing Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), citizens and renewable energy enterprises are campaigning vigorously for its retention and even expansion.

Whether it is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President Obama, actor Leonardo DiCaprio or the million Australian and global citizens who were in the streets and parks on 21 September the sensible message is clear: we have to persist with tackling climate change- it is urgent.

There are government policy frameworks to retain and enhance, but there is also the challenge that households, clubs and businesses can take up by getting on with doing something.

With gas prices escalating for both households and businesses now and even more in years to come the carbon tax will pale in comparison with what is on the way.

Two of the most active groups in Australia advocating persistence on policy and doing it are Solar Citizen and Beyond Zero Emissions.

There has been continued growth in household solar take-up across Australia.  The Solar Citizens' website provides further facts on this and gives a real sense of a growing momentum:www.solarcitizens.org.au.

Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) has brought researchers, innovative climate change enterprises and households together to develop projects and to advise on how to go about new building work, retrofitting and renovating to make a contribution to tackling climate change. Go to BZE’s Building Plan for more details:  http://bze.org.au/buildings

- Warwick Neilley