Tag Archives
Disgraced Mayor penalised for misconduct
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 […]
Byrne tells NCAT he did not understand conflict of interest rules
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. […]
Green Bans Turn Fifty
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 […]
Inner West Mayor guilty of misconduct, finds Tribunal
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 […]
Clues to the missing trust in Greater Sydney Parklands
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 […]
All news is fake news to Facebook
By LAWRENCE GIBBONS Facebook has refused to let the City Hub promote a news story written by the preeminent investigative journalist Wendy Bacon. The censored report criticised changes to state planning guidelines which will pave the way for the Star casino (with possible links to organised crime) to build a new high-rise development in Pyrmont. […]
Casino gift turns nightmare
By WENDY BACON NSW police have charged a 30-year-old man after an investigation into his gambling transactions at The Star casino in July. He was searched while he was at the casino and more than $10,000 in cash, $50,000 in casino chips and documents were seized. A search of his home resulted in police seizing […]
Peaceful protesters arrested at Black Lives Matter rally
By WENDY BACON NSW police arrested Black Lives Matter organisers on Tuesday before their peaceful protest in the Domain had even begun. Hundreds of protesters were blocked from entering Djarrbarragall, the Gadigal name for the Domain. Many were threatened with arrest if they did not leave the area. Black Lives Matter organiser Paddy Gibson was […]
Trust missing in NSW mega park authority
By WENDY BACON The Minister for Planning Rob Stokes last week announced a new super agency for managing Sydney’s parklands. This is the latest in a number of controversial moves by the NSW government to concentrate and fast-track planning power since the COVID pandemic began. The new Greater Sydney Parklands (GSP) agency will absorb 6000 […]
Westcon’s M8 dustup
By WENDY BACON There have been six air pollution exceedances on the WestConnex M8 tunnel since it opened in early July. Five of these involved the controversial unfiltered ventilation stacks. Air pollutant readings above the limit were not caused by traffic congestion because there has been very little traffic on the M8 due to drivers […]
