WCC Media Release
Community Summit sets vision

30/10/2011

From the mountains to the sea, we value and protect our natural environment and will be leaders in building an educated, creative and connected community.

More than 200 community members have spent the weekend at the Wollongong Town Hall, working with councillors and council staff to develop a collective vision [see above] that will guide a 10-year plan for Wollongong City.

The summit forms part of Wollongong 2022, a project that will establish the city’s priorities for the coming years and help plan for spending on key projects and services.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery OAM said the summit was just one part of the significant community engagement exercise being undertaken for Wollongong 2022.

“We’ve had over 150 community members, leaders from various perspectives, councillors and council staff come together over the weekend to help set a vision for the city,” Cr Bradbery said.

“The Community Summit is the culmination of a great amount of work that has seen hundreds of people contribute their ideas over many months through surveys, competitions, kiosks and social media.”

Following the summit, input from the community will be used to develop the 10-year Community Strategic Plan. The plan will be supported by a number of other documents which will replace the current management plan process. Council will be accountable to the Community Strategic Plan and will be required to report on its progress at the end of each term, against determined benchmarks.

The Wollongong 2022 plans follow changes made to the NSW Local Government Act as part of the Integrated Planning and Reporting legislation. It sees councils across the state take a consistent approach to planning for their communities and better enables councils to push for State and Federal funding for key projects.

Cr Bradbery said that the contributions made at the summit would be critical to the Wollongong Community Strategic Plan and shape what the city will look like in 10 years time. “Over the past few months the community has shared their ideas and discussed both the opportunities and challenges facing Wollongong. It’s exciting to see this culminate with such a diverse group of individuals coming together this weekend and collaborating on a plan for Wollongong.”

In the coming months, Council will hold a number of ‘refining workshops’ to review the high-level vision and add more detailed objectives. Representatives from the community will be asked to contribute prior to the plans being drafted and presented to council mid next year for endorsement.

WCC Media Release
Council welcomes NBN announcement

18/10/2011

Wollongong City Council has welcomed an announcement by the Prime Minister Julia Gillard confirming the initial roll out of the National Broadband Network in Wollongong city over the next 12 months.

Several thousand premises in Wollongong and Dapto will be connected at first, with more detailed plans to be released over coming months. Infrastructure built as part of the initial phase will support later expansion of high-speed broadband across the city. The network will see connection speeds up to 100 times faster than existing internet connections.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery OAM said the network would bring significant benefits to households, businesses and the community.

“Council welcomes today’s announcement that the National Broadband Network will soon be connected to homes and businesses in Wollongong and Dapto,” Cr Bradbery said.

“This paves the way for the city to benefit from high-speed broadband. The roll out of the NBN will provide new opportunities in areas like commerce, health and education.”

“The NBN will also allow Council to provide better communication and e-government tools for the people of the city. The roll out of the NBN will support the expansion of e-government services by using new technologies allowing Council to connect with the community.”

Cr Bradbery said the inclusion of Wollongong would also increase opportunities for graduates.

“The NBN will encourage growth in the region’s technology sector. It will provide opportunities for the University of Wollongong’s Information Technology graduates as well as local business.”

Issued By the Council’s Media Team

Local Government Association of NSW Annual Conference 2011

Shoalhaven City Council

Sunday 23 to Wednesday 26 October 2011

http://www.lgsa-plus.net.au/www/html/3721-motions-and-business-papers.asp

Check out the business paper with motions to conference – are your key concerns being raised? Mine aren’t.

From WCC Advertiser pages:

“Wollongong 2022

Council is inviting the community to work with us to develop a vision for our city. Wollongong 2022: Community Strategic Plan will set out the community’s vision and guide the work of Council for the next 10 years and beyond.

How can you be involved in this process? Attend the Town Hall Talk on 19 October or register to attend the Community Summit

• Topic: Our Future, Our Community and Leadership

Venue: Wollongong Town Hall“

The NSW Government has given us an invitation:

“Put yourself in the picture
A fresh start for planning in NSW”

As NSW residents, we all care about planning decisions which protect or strengthen the regions, communities and streets in which we live. These decisions have a profound influence on where we work, live, play and shop.”

Source http://planningreview.nsw.gov.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=5lhD7symyEc%3d&tabid=94

In my experience, the NSW government review of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and the associated planning system is likely to be dominated by professionals who are often not engaged in the local matters where they actually live.

In addition, some (many?) work with abstract models which are based on 20th century certainties which no longer hold.

Their planning concerns are often conceived of in an entirely abstract way which does not accurately represent the down-to-earth and well founded views of local people in local communities.

Similarly, the move to “independent” planning assessment bodies – dominated by “professionals” – results in a soulless approach to planning matters. Something vital is missing from the mix – us!

Well, the present Liberal Government has invited us to put ourselves in the picture. Let’s do it.

The earlier Community Reform Agenda used on reformwcc.info was conceived of when the ALP Government was making full use of its Section 3A powers to decide on projects of state significance.

That version of a Community Reform Agenda said:

“13. Change the Local Government Act (and Planning Act) to require all major projects of state significance to be issued with a “statement of community consent” from the relevant Precinct Committee as a prior and necessary condition for the NSW Planning Minister to grant development consent (such statement of community consent not to be unreasonably withheld – with a test of ‘reason’ in contested cases being determined by a popular vote within the area of the Precinct Committee).” (http://reformwcc.info/community-reform-agenda-2007)

Well, 3A is now out, but what will replace it? I am not sure where the present planning review is heading, but I would be very much surprised if any of the professional submissions are working along similar lines of genuine community empowerment and engagement in the planning process.

Real thought needs to be given to how the Planning Review is shaping up and what community empowerment and community engagement options it is considering to enable a workable balance between all factors (economic, social, environmental) in the planning, implementation and approvals process.

A key design concern has to be with process. Getting the process right for systematic community engagement in decision-making is the key for putting our communities in the best possible position for dealing with the rapidly emerging global changes.

A new model of local Council as a form of organisation is required – one which brings community voices into the decision-making process (in a democratic, open and accountable manner).

As the loss of jobs at the Port Kembla steel works demonstrates most graphically, these global changes are impacting locally here as elsewhere. It is already happening – but where is the action to move towards genuine community empowerment in this spring of 2011?

The WCC Council election is just the first step in this process. Now for putting some spring into the next steps towards some real community-based reforms.

For those of us who could not attend last night, it will be interesting to read what Community Forum notes result from the NSW Planning Review Wollongong Community Forum when they are posted (10 days after the forum).

And then for motivated and concerned people to work out what needs to be done by way of collective action.

See http://planningreview.nsw.gov.au/Consultation/CommunityForumNotes/tabid/95/Default.aspx

Given that Wollongong City Council is formed on the 20th century corporation model, and given a host of other current economic and social factors, the following statement is relevant to the reform process here:

Official Statement from Occupy Wall Street – this statement was voted on and approved by the general assembly of protesters at Liberty Square: Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.* (*These grievances are not all-inclusive.)

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

And for more reading in relation to Wollongong see http://reformwcc.info/new-life-design/

Community Summit – 29 & 30 October, free workshops at the Town Hall. Register online by Monday 10 October.

http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/council/publicdocuments/Pages/Wollongong2022.aspx