Friends of Ku-ring-gai Environment

ICAC pork-barrelling report first step to changing political culture: experts SMH

The paper reports:
Sydney barrister Geoffrey Watson, SC, who was counsel assisting several landmark ICAC inquiries, said the report was aimed at changing the perception of pork-barrelling and making it clear there may be legal consequences flowing from politically motivated funding decisions.

“Maybe we can change the culture here, and I think this is the first step toward it,” he said.

Watson said the term pork-barrelling, while commonly used, “belittles the seriousness of the subject matter” and a more appropriate term was “misuse of public funds”.

“Words matter. It’s not pork-barrelling when we’re talking about millions of dollars,” he said.

The ICAC said it was “concerned that some elected officials may hold the misguided view that their discretion to spend public funds on pork-barrelling schemes is unfettered” and it was seeking to provide guidance on the “metes and bounds” of conduct likely to attract the attention of investigators." ... See more

The State Of Environment Report - a must watch!

Towers up to 36 storeys planned for Hornsby as residential population forecast to explode writes Angus Thompson SMH

"Greens councillor Monika Ball called for tax reform rather than building more homes.
“We do not need to build more homes to address housing shortages and affordability,” she said. “Instead, we need negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms and a tax on vacant properties.”

Ball said she will vote for the plan to be placed on public exhibition so that the community can provide feedback

“We know that one of the Liberal state government’s primary aims is to raise revenue through over-development,” she said.
“They set councils like Hornsby Shire massive housing targets that must be met while thousands of existing apartments sit empty.”
Note: Recent Census figures stated there were 300,000 recorded empty homes in Sydney on Census night! Over 1300 vacant houses in Ku-ring-gai alone! ... See more