Marrickville Local Labor

Balanced, Fair, Focused on Core Services  says  Marrickville Labor Mayor, Clr Sam Iskandar  when he talks about  his  Labor led Council’s first management plan and budget for 2009/10.

In a marathon session on 16 June Marrickville Council adopted the 2009/210 Management Plan and budget. Labor Mayor Sam Iskandar drove the budget through Council in the teeth of opposition from Greens Councillors, after a month of public consultation.

Labor North Ward Councillor Laura Wright backed Mayor Sam Iskandar’s statement that the budget was a first step back towards balancing Marrickville’s books, and meeting the broad needs of local residents, families, communities and the environment. ‘After exhaustively reviewing the budget line-by -line, we made some tough but responsible decisions on savings, fees and charges- she said.

The facts on the budget speak for themselves’ said Councillor Wright:

• Maintenance of good levels of funding for roads, footpaths , drainage, landscaping and park upgrades;
• Marrickville’s high quality services maintained- unlimited free clean-ups; top quality child care, the award winning magic yellow bus, the watershed, arts programs, innovative stormwater projects;
• High levels of funding for community and environmental programs including the Cooks River and an extra $100,000 for Environmental initiatives;
• Maintenance of Marrickville’s childcare fees so that they stay competitive compared with neighbouring LGAs and lower than Sydney and Leichhardt. We heard families’s concerns in the consultation period. So to help people who have more than one child in care we’ve increased the level of subsidy to families with incomes up to $127,000. This will help around 63 children from 30 local families.
• Significant increase in the Graffitti Tag removal budget (while maintaining Council support for the internationally recognized Graffitti as Art programs)
• Unprecedented levels of funding for public works: $2.2 million for Mackey park refurbishment; funding for the design for refurbishment of Petersham pool and $2.9m locked in for completion of the works in 2012; $1m to upgrade Arlington Oval to an all season/all weather standard synthetic surface; $12.7 m to commence work on the new Annette Kellerman Pool; and money to start the much needed SES facility, bringing a boost to the Sydenham area.

Labor Councillors also strongly refuted Greens claims that the budget cut environmental programs and alternative transport.

‘The Greens are barking up the wrong tree when they claim that the Marrickville Labor budget is a return to the brown economy of the fifties’ said Labor’s South Ward Representative Clr Mary O’Sullivan. On the contrary  this Labor budget  keeps  Marrickville in the black and meets community needs across the spectrum. As for Councillor Olive’s claim that we are taking money away from public transport by delaying the beautification works around the Marrickville station -Labor says, ‘why spend this money before we’ve finalized and approved the new Local Environment Plan which includes provision for this gateway area?’

‘ In line with Marrickville community expectations I’m really proud that all  Labor Councillors strongly supported maintenance of high levels of funding for community and environmental  programs, including innovative stormwater initiatives, the Cooks River foreshore remediation and an extra $100,000 for  renewable energy  projects ‘.

 

‘The Greens claim we have reduced money for bike tracks. I’m really surprised that they even object to our plans to resurface Arlington oval.

Here again Labor has  looked at  the big picture for transport and local sport and taken a sensible approach’ said Labor’s West ward representative  Councillor Emanuel Tsardoulias.

‘Labor wants Council wants to focus  on regional cycleways-to maximize the value we get from bikes as a genuine transport alternative. We want to match funding with the  NSW and Commonwealth Governments, not go it alone like the Greens seem to want. We are coming to the end of  the current  cycle of external grants. We want that work to be finished on time and on budget.

We only get Commonwealth and state funds on condition we complete the projects in the financial year. For 2009/10 Council staff say they can realistically complete the Cooks River foreshore off-road cycleway upgrade through Warren and Steele parks; get the detailed designs, consultations and approvals completed ready to undertake and finish both the Camperdown to Cooks River on-road cycle way in 2010/11, as well as the Newtown to Ashfield on road cycle way within the same period.’  

I’m also proud that we are planning a new surface on Arlington Oval.  This will help to cut down accidents for children and young people playing for local sporting clubs. Compared with genetically modified sports grass maintained by chemicals and fertilizers which leak into the water table, my guess is that the  synthetic turf comes out just as well, if not better environmentally.