Ruled by ‘denyosaurs’
At the recent Strategy and Assets meeting of Council, Council staff from the Planning Environment and Development Group, Environmental Services, made recommendations regarding the urban tree canopy in the Shoalhaven.
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This was done after an urban tree canopy audit undertaken by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and extensive research providing details of how other Councils are managing trees on public and private land in urban areas and how they are valued in that landscape, The recommendation was;
That Council:
1. Receive the St Georges Basin urban canopy study area report prepared by the University of Technology Sydney for information.
2. Review relevant current policies to consider opportunities to better protect and enhance the urban tree canopy.
3. Consider a city wide, or larger area audit to better inform Council on the economic, social and environmental value of trees in urban areas.
4. Consider a subsequent report on the detail of a possible “tree replacement policy” in line with those of other Councils.
Sounds great.
Unfortunately a last minute amendment to the recommendation to exclude the 45 degree rule from review was made by Councillor Proudfoot and Councillor Pakes and the ‘gang of seven’ conservatives comprising, Councillor Wells, Councillor Gash, Councillor White, Councillor Watson, Councillor Kitchener, Councillor Proudfoot and General Manager Russ Pigg then voted to pass the amended recommendation.
How can excluding the 45 degree rule from review possibly “better protect and enhance the urban tree canopy”?
If this rule remains how can a tree replanting regime ever be possible when Council does not have complete records of where, how many, or what species of tree are being removed.
Does excluding this rule from review mean these councilors support the “economic, social and environmental value of trees in urban areas”? It does not.
Unfortunately for us, this group of councillors did this because they can. It is obvious that our ‘so called independents’ do not vote independently but vote as a group to block and maliciously punish the environmentally progressive representatives on and of council.
These councillors are not providing the best representation for our community by providing ‘best practice’ urban canopy protection. They are in fact denying scientific evidence.
They are in fact denying the recommendations of Shoalhaven City Council staff. They are in fact ‘denyosaurs’.
J.Hamilton, Mollymook Beach
Fooling the people
According to government statistics, for the quarter ending 31 March 2018 there were 6,107, 878 licenced drivers and 6, 550,128 registered vehicles in NSW.
Of the registered vehicles, 830,333 owners are pensioners who pay no fees, levies or road tax. Consequently, at the quarter ending 31 March 2018 there were 5,719,795 motorists paying some form of registration revenue.
Under present legislation, any driver (estimated at 46,000) who spend $25 per week on tolls (Sydney toll roads M2, M4, M5 and M7) receives free vehicle registration”. And now an estimated 166,000 drivers who spend on average $15 per week on their personal toll account will be eligible for half priced registrations.
Let me get this straight, according to government figures roughly 212,000 drivers are eligible to either have their registration halved in price or pay no registration. Because they use Sydney’s tollways.
5,719,795 minus 212,000 = 5,507,795. Gladys—what a rort. We have roughly 5,507,795 NSW taxpayers paying taxes for an elite few.
What’s that about fooling the people.