By WENDY BACON Freedom of speech but for whom? This was the key question asked by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi in her Sydney PEN’s annual lecture held at the Sydney Writers’ Festival this week. Sydney PEN Centre is part of PEN International that defends freedom of expression by campaigning on behalf of writers who have […]
By WENDY BACON Transport for NSW failed to inform Inner West Council (IWC) about public safety concerns for land in St Peters that it wanted the Council to manage as a park. A City Hub investigation has found that the NSW Environmental Protection Authority’s concerns about hazard risks at the site led it to require […]
Opinion by WENDY BACON The NSW public is still waiting for answers to questions about what Transport Minister David Elliott knew about a planned stoppage of the state train network when he went to sleep on Sunday night. Today Fair Work Commission documents have revealed that NSW Transport made plans as early as last week […]
By WENDY BACON Inner West Council is seeking advice from the NSW government on how a suspension of pay penalty for its Mayor Darcy Byrne will work in practice. On August 3rd, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) convicted Byrne of four counts of misconduct and two further partial breaches of the NSW Local […]
By WENDY BACON With local government elections postponed until December 2021, Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne faces a possible suspension that could prevent him from standing to continue leading the Council until the postponed election. Inner West Councillors vote for the Mayor, unlike in the nearby City of Sydney which has a popular election. […]
Opinion by WENDY BACON Fifty years ago last week, two NSW unions took a bold step. At the request of thirteen Hunters Hill women, they agreed to impose a construction black ban (later renamed a green ban) on a small piece of bushland at the junction of the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers in Sydney […]
By WENDY BACON Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne breached conflict of interest provisions and improperly used his power as a Councillor to remove social media comments that he alleged were defamatory, a NSW Tribunal has found. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) found the Mayor guilty of four allegations of code of conduct breaches […]
Opinion by WENDY BACON Is Taking the TRUST out of Sydney’s Public Parklands a Good Idea? On 17th February, an alliance of Sydney community organisations held its first forum at NSW Parliament. The forum 'Is Taking the TRUST out of Sydney’s Public Parklands a Good Idea?" focussed on the new Greater Sydney Parklands, which is […]