Yesterday The NSW Greens Sylvia Hale announced their annual Bad Developer Awards, with Meriton’s Harry Triguboff the big winner for these glorious comments on developing Sydney’s Royal National Park.
You go north and we have all these reserves and you go south and you have all the reserves, and they are the best part of the coast. That is crazy. We should be building on this area,” he said. If they want to see trees, they can go to Katoomba, there are plenty of trees there.
In the Metro category the worst Commercial or Industrial development was the proposed Rose Bay Marina development by Addenbrook and the most environmentally-destructive development was the Port Enfield inter-modal freight centre by the NSW government.
Regional winners were Stocklands for a shopping mall in Mudgee and a residential development in Vincentia, with the most environmentally-destructive regional development going to Centennial Coal for the Anvil Hill coal mine in the Hunter Valley, something that will affect water sources and increase greenhouse emissions.
The worst council award went to Canada Bay in Sydney for its granting of public land to a politically connected private developer, a matter that is currently before the ICAC, and for its approval of the demolition of a cottage in an urban conservation zone, and Richmond Valley for planning a sprint car track next to an aged care home and for a sewage ocean outfall just off the beach.
There were positives too, not the least of which was an award to the always terrific Elizabeth Farrelly of the SMH for commentary on planning issues and The Friends of Callan Park as the best community campaign.
The full list is below the fold. Oh and speaking of development, there is a property for sale by private owner in todays SMH Domain, it looks lovely.
Golden Toaster For Crimes Against Amenity: Harry Triguboff and Stocklands.
Worst Commercial or Industrial development: Rose Bay Marina, Addenbrook and Mudgee Shopping mall, Stocklands.
Worst Residential development: Pitt Town, Johnson Property group and “The Point� Vincentia, Stocklands.
Worst Council: Canada Bay and Richmond Valley.
Most Environmentally Destructive: Port Enfield inter-modal freight centre by the NSW government and Anvil Hill Coal Mine, Centennial Coal.
Most Insidious Industry group Lobbying Effort: NSW Urban Taskforce.
Worst government department: Department of Lands.
Best Community Campaign: Friends of Callan Park and joint regional winners Save Killalea Alliance and Rising Tide (Newcastle).
Best Council: City of Sydney for it’s water recycling program.
Best Commentary on planning issues: Elizabeth Farrelly of the SMH.
Best investigation of a development issue: Debra Jopson & Catharine Munro SMH – Sydney harbour marina developments.
Best reporting on a specific development: Scott Bevan 7:30 report on Anvil Hill and Sarah Allely of the Illawarra Mercury for Killalea.
Best Community Campaign Whose Efforts And Funding Have Been Used To Directly Campaign For Greens Candidates In State Elections: Friends of Callan Park
As a self-identified Labor stooge Liam, you’d do well to do your stone-throwing a little further from that particular glass house.
Ah Liam, all Labor all the time, what about all those developer and gambling dollars sitting in the partys coffers?
FDB: Like many in the chattering class, I love the sound of breaking glass. (Cheers Belloc.) And “you’d do well to”? Cutting and pasting from our mate Greensleeves?
Phil: Labor’s behaviour is not at issue here, though I happen to side with the immortally awesome Paul Keating on the issue of developers. And on the issue Frank Sartor, bien sûr.
It’s actually the Callan Park lot who shit me more than *ahem* one particularly conservative incoherent political sub-tendency of the NSW Greens. They’re far more concerned with their land and property valuations than anything else—I’d be very surprised if there was a single active member of the Friends who was a tenant.
Tis a lovely property listed Phil. Anyone know if you the wine cellar comes with it or will that go when the current occupants leave in a few weeks?
“Cutting and pasting from our mate Greensleeves?”
Guilty, m’lud.
I do believe it costs a little more than $15 to buy an election.
FDB: Like many in the chattering class, I love the sound of breaking glass. (Cheers Belloc.)
No matter, Liam. That line he stole, with subtle daring, from Wing Commander Maurice Baring.
Can’t agree on the Anvil Hill Coal mine. Trying to reduce greenhouse emissions by shutting down individual coal mines is an unwinnable game of whack-a-mole. There’s just too much of the stuff elsewhere.
On the building that inspired the awards itself, how did the Toaster ever get planning approval? FFS, in Melbourne they compromised the design of Fed Square to allow a better view of St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is just another production-line church if you ask me.
Phil: could I knock one dollar off the price for fire damage?
Good old Sylvia Hale, that woman is a class act. Not only a true-blue environmentalist who knows how to culture-jam but a red-blooded democrat through and through.
E.g, apropos the democracy discussion on the Pilger thread, I believe she was one of many leading political lights, including former ALP MLC Meredith Burgmann, Phillip Adams, Warren Mundine, Jack Mundey and a cast of trade union luminaries who recently signed a national statement inviting the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chávez, to visit Australia in 2007.
Perhaps when the ALP is elected federally? When things get a wee bit more democratic in the Lucky Country? Let’s hope. I would love ol’ Chavez interviewed by Kerry O’Brien.
The petition read:
friendship and solidarity between our two peoples.
Certainly Hale is a red-blooded democrat who knows the power of media campaigns to shame bosses into doing the right thing by their workers. *cough*
I’ll add, to Robert’s question about Anvil Hill, what’s wrong with the Port Enfield freight centre? I would have thought State Government investment in rail infrastructure would have been something to applaud.
yeah, a good mate worked for the NSW Teachers Federation for 8 years: ALP hacks to a T mostly. The workers (60 ASU, formerly FCU) permanent staff struck them so hard they didn’t know whether they were coming or going sometimes.
Lefties can be nasty employers, but nothing a good democratic grassroots organisation can’t mitigate. I’m all for it. Democracy has to be constantly fought for, day by day, minute by minute, you know.
Jinmaro, please, everyone else on this thread is sticking to the topic, this one is a Chavez free zone OK?
The ad on Domain has gone now.
A couple of years ago the Democrats surveyed a sample of major donors to political parties and asked what they expected to get out of donations. Did they expected to get influence, or did they just wanted to contribute to the political process? A number of these were developers and other major Australian corporations. Only a few were prepared to even answer the survey. Those that did, were cagey at best.