All right, at the outset I will confess that as an online publisher I might stand to benefit personally if those pesky free newspapers were banned BUT the fact is there is an environmentally inspired movement taking hold around the world whose single goal is to stamp out this archaic practice once and for all and finally get rid of those unwanted bundles of newsprint thrown on to our lawns each week.
To make matters worse it seems to me the people who actually deliver the free newspapers (sometimes in plastic sometimes not) never ever read the ‘No Junk Mail’ stickers on letter boxes since religiously each week a new bundle is directed in the general direction of every letter box I see in the suburbs.
What really annoys me is that the ‘No Junk Mail’ letterbox owners steadfastly refuse to remove the unwanted papers … and why should they … and muggins ends up having to tidy up the whole area on a weekly basis.
And, in the CBD it’s worse. The lobby of some buildings seem to collect a dozen or more unwanted ‘visitors’ at a time – which might boost circulation figures for the publisher but always makes me wonder “Do they ever actually make their way up to the business offices in the upper floors?”
Now the hard headed marketers out there will quickly tell you that a 3 per cent response rate for unaddressed junk/direct mail is a good result, but I say to them “who has to pick up the unwanted 97 per cent time after time?”
I’m sure as hell it shouldn’t be us! If anything the publisher should be sent the bill to tidy up.
Admittedly there are some people who might claim e-magazines such as ours would also fall into the same category but consider this:
1) You must have subscribed (asked for) at sometime to actually receive a copy
2) If you want to unsubscribe you should be able to. It’s a legal requirement and if the automated process doesn’t function correctly (and I know we have our moments) you can always ring a human at our office and discuss the issue
3) We don’t cut down any trees
4) We don’t litter the local landscape – 50 times a year – one community newspaper I know distributes well over 5,000,000 un-asked for copies each year
5) You can always delete our publication from your Inbox– with a single click.
6) You don’t have to physically pick it up (and heaven forbid if they’ve been rained on newspapers become ink stained globs) and dispose in the recycle bin
It seems to me if people really want a newspaper they should buy one – it makes no sense in the 21st century that so-called environmentally friendly councils and enlightened ratepayers should allow this out-moded and wasteful practice to continue.
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Long term rezoning problems with WCC
I have for the last 28 years been trying, along with another 200 mostly single lot owners, to have our 900m2 blocks of land allowed to be re zoned for residential building .
It is a mockery that all around our land there are new residential houses ( LandCom ) and yet WCC will not consider any form of rezoning of this parcel of land ( that totals 22Hectares for the 200 lots )
No wonder shonky developers offer backhanders etc to get their developments approved as it seems doing the right thing and conducting open dialogue only meets with closed minds and completely negative response.
As far back as 1996 we offered that any house built on any single block of land would have to have the following
1) minimum of 5000 litres of rain water tank savings
2) Provision for personal Sewerage treatment if required ( EnviroCycle or similar )
3) The estate would have a urban water run off pond that each house could also draw from for “grey water usage “ ie toilet /washing machine / gardening etc and this would be also plumbed into each house
4) All houses were to be of such a design so as to adhere to a strict energy conservation limit so as to minimise the need for air conditioners etc
5) The provision of solar type panels to generate self sustaining electricity
6) A Solar Hot water system
7) A minimum of 40 % of the block to be fully tree /shrubbed
Instead of welcoming such initiatives , we were told by WCC the existing zoning would remain , and to go away and stop wanting to ever build on the weed infested /fire hazard blocks that we having been pay rates on decades .
I suppose it is only to be expected as even before David Campbell became the Minister for Utilities ( water conservation ) we were told when he was still Mayor of WCC , that “Wollongong residents will never be allowed to have rain water tanks “
I’ll leave you to ponder this piece of forward thinking for yourselves .
Yet as frustrated with the stone wall you hit every time you meet with WCC or its councilors to get something done , I worry that with the stench of corruption in the WCC brought on by its own inaction , what will happen to future developments in Wollongong . If this city is to grow , we need new developments , but unless the WCC helps make this possible an open and sensible way , one of 2 things will happen
1) Development will dry up and with it many employment opportunities and resulting a negative fiscal impact on the city and its residents
2) WCC allows development free of political bias based on realistic planning principles, and not high jacked by some green political group or greedy developers .
Jim Bennett
Wollongong Council & Personal Gain
It saddens me that the good old days of councillors who got involved for the good of the community rather than their own personal gain . I have written to the local paper on a few occasions complaining about their missuse of rate payers funds for junkets overseas. It seems being a labor area has worked against us and i for one will never vote labour in local or state elections again. It must also be said that two of those involved in the corruption were also on the board of the Fraternity club in major positions when their financial trouble started. The problem also is that mast of the councillors and developers named are of an ethnic background saddening for the majority of hard working members of the ethniic community. Let’s hope as a result of this enquiry someone ends up in jail also the others never hold positions of power again and the developers named never get any work in woollongong again. And to Mr Oxley you forgot the people who pay your salary are the ratepayers of Wollongong you acted like an autocrat not a public servant and to the councillors who were not involved you are not blameless you are guilty of complacency you should have been more diligent in keeping the rest honest by asking more questions and if that did not work involving the local papers to insist on answers. So in conclusion I’m glad three administrators have become involved and wish them luck in cleaning up a corrupt council
Phillip Little So why just ask 9?
A lot of people are saying of the 9 Councillors, stood down, things like you must’ve known etc. Those who ask these questions, tell me this, do you know what your neighbour does? Do you tell them what you do 24/7? Does anyone knows what goes on between a husband and wife?
While pointing the finger at the 9 who were in and out of council, around the community, why not be asking the same question of the 1200 who work in Council full time? Not blaming them, but obviously someone must know something out of 1200? Why didn’t they say anything? Why aren’t people asking them?
Surely ex-councillors from before 2004 and not voted back in, must know something? What about ex-Mayors, shouldn’t people be asking them?
Why go back so far? The Mercury had an expose on the Oxley regime once before, calling for Council dismissal. This was in March 1988 by their then editor Peter Culllen. He wasn’t frighten to question. But what has the local media done in the last 20 years? Where are our Watergate journalists? The local media must’ve known something. Local business must’ve known something too. And what did you know?
Alan Bond No CV required
The trouble with the democratic system, is that people are elected by popular vote. Unlike a job application they do not have to provide a CV or references.
For how long will the three administrators named in the SMH today be at the helm?
Till Sept 2008 LG elections? or longer?
P Ferguson Sorry for all the “honest” councilors?
I have been asked on numerous occasions by my clients whether I feel sorry for all the “honest” councilors. My answer is “absolutely not”. WCC is one of the largest employers in the region and the councillors should be compared to a board of directors of a large company. At the end of the day the Board is responsible for the behaviours and performance of the business. Also to add that the Lord Mayor has remained silent during all the ICAC hearing where he should have tried to give the ratepayers some comfort. He dodged the media. This is very poor leadership.
What has come out in the ICAC enquiry is of no surprise to most business people. It has been going on for years (since probably Arkell’s reign) . The only surprise is that more people should have been mentioned and that Iemma’s stooges got off scot free. Hopefully the named “people of interest” do some serious time in jail. They have let down the community down through lies, corruption, sex , bribes, gifts etc and made Wollongong a mockery nationally. Do the crime, do the time.
My belief is that the biggest problem with Wollongong is that it is one of the safest Labor seats in the country at local govt, state govt and federal levels. The Liberals will not spend any money down here as they cannot see the point nor will Labor because they will win the seat anyway . The community needs to give some serious thought to voting more independents without political affiliations into Council and also at State and Federal level. Let’s make Wollongong a ‘swinging’ seat.
John Carrasco They should have their employment terminated
Yes indeed what a travesty and tragedy is the whole sorry ICAC saga with WCC.
I agree with your conclusion that the Councillors are responsible and should go.
In addition, I hope that the accountability does not stop there.
Clearly there were council executives that were involved in the corrupt activities and in the event that there are still people that were involved directly or indirectly in those activities the surely they should have their employment terminated as well.
Paul Wright Let the people speak
Paul Matters of Wollongong Against Corruption who had heckled the previous Council meeting, was in full bore at the last meeting of Council. While giving a very volatile speech on behalf of Vicki Curran and her claims against Council, he managed to almost undo his speech by his constant heckling of the untainted Councillors. As Councillor Martin pointed out, no one interrupted Matters when he spoke.
At one stage I called to Matters to let the people speak where upon he viciously retorted to me that I must be a member of the ALP and a developer! This provided the biggest laugh of the night from the Councillors and people who know me.
Paul Matters left the chamber yelling out that all the councillors are getting sacked the next day anyway. He left while they were resolving to have a strong review of Ms Curran’s case. I guess he couldn’t heckle against that.
Lastly, his heckles were aimed at Councillors and why they didn’t stop the corruption, however, Mr Matters had not been to a Council meeting for years, so he certainly did nothing about it either, until his self gratifying grand standing at kicking innocent people when they are down.
Alan Bond Too many questions are left unanswered
Obviously now that you only need four people in council positions to cry systemic corruption as an excuse to sack the entire group of councillors including those not involved in the ICAC Inquiry.
Yet Premier Iemma reinstates his own MPs Hays and Tripodi because they of not an interest to this ICAC Inquiry.
So why sack councillors who are of not an interest to this ICAC Inquiry?
What of the police investigations that were called for by the victims of the sexual harassment allegations now proven?
What of the break-in into the council basement two weeks after the ICAC raid?
What other development proposals had deals cut for them in the last 20 years?
Too many questions are left unanswered. Sacking the entire Council will not make those questions go away. The Premier can be assured of that.
Alan Bond | 
