News in brief

Give us a minute

Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s procedural etiquette came into question at Monday night’s council meeting, with two councillors upset at the lack of prior notice for an important mayoral minute.

The paper addressed the new laws concerning liquor licensing and the Lord Mayor’s recommendations for the City to consider.

“Given this is such an important issue, why is it that I only received it forty minutes before this meeting?” Liberal councillor Edward Mandla asked.

Independent councillor Angela Vithoulkas agreed. “Failure to give councillors enough time to consider the recommendations is treating the public with disrespect,” she said.

Both councillors voted against the motion but indicated they may have supported it given more time.

Nile disses Dawson

Christian Democrat leader Fred Nile has sparked outrage by linking TV personality Charlotte Dawson’s death to an abortion she had 15 years ago.

“Left unmentioned in many obituaries, is the poignant story faced by Charlotte in 1999,” read the post on Mr Nile’s Facebook page.

“Charlotte Dawson revealed in her autobiography how she aborted her child with swimmer Scott Miller because he didn’t want any distractions in the lead-up to the Sydney Olympics.”

The post sparked a torrent of criticism. Ms Dawson died on Saturday following an apparent suicide. She had long suffered from depression.

On Tuesday, Mr Nile asked on Facebook: “Why is post-natal depression rightfully recognized & properly treated, yet post-abortion depression swept under the carpet?”

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Station Street Development stunted

A proposed 16-storey apartment block at Station Street, Marrickville has been rejected after a peer review found no justification for the scale of the building.

Transport for NSW also announced a station upgrade with which the development would be inconsistent.

Marrickville Council will invite the developer to lodge a revised submission that provides for a seven to nine storey development.