December 2013
Stand Up for Public Housing
Community Barbeque a Success
Jamie Parker said of the Stand Up for Public Housing community barbeque on 6 November 2013:
“We had a great turnout for our community BBQ and I spoke to a number of local residents about big issues in the community, especially in relation to public housing. I’ll continue to fight to improve living conditions for people in public housing and will keep working hard to get homes fixed, reduce waiting times and keep the government accountable.”
TRAMSHEDS DA
Undaunted by residents’ opposition Council Planners have recommended approval of Mirvac’s plans to build a retail complex the size of a football field, half being a new Woolworths, on the historic Tramsheds site at Harold Park. The proposal is to be considered by Sydney City Council on 3 December 2013 at a meeting of the Planning and Development Committee commencing at 5pm. If you would like to
Secret History of our Streets
Those of you who missed the BBC series, The Secret History of Our Streets, recently shown on SBS TV, can buy the book at Gleebooks (Cost $19.95).
Some parts of London have a lot in common with Glebe. There, as here, government and councils deal with ‘housing’ in the abstract. In the private sector, that means forget the people and think of the profits. For social housing and affordable housing tenants, planning is paternalistic,from the top down, planning that assumes, or is indifferent to, the consent of the community that lives here.
As in London, restoring and looking after the heritage housing of Glebe has returned social and economic dividends undreamt of by those who lived here during its hard times. Glebe today is a wonderfully liveable diverse and interesting suburb for people of all ages and conditions.
The political and administrative elite in London did not ask people who lived in areas marked for redevelopment what they wanted. Parts of Georgian Victorian and Edwardian London were razed to the ground in the 1950s and 1960s and replaced with acres of high rise flats. The old housing which survived ‘slum clearance’ is today worth a small fortune.
The high rise towers which replaced the old homes in London quickly dated and became, in the words of the authors of The Secret History of Our Streets, ‘a lock on the future, a brake on the development of the area’. There are limits to the improvements than can be made to high rise units and real restraints on adapting them to the changing needs of family and community. In London high rise estates have been plagued by poverty and crime and those who could afford to move out, have moved on.
Glebe Artist Wins Prize
Nigel Milsom has taken out the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.
Nigel worked at a studio in Queen Street until recently. Nigel has previously won the Sulman prize with ‘Judo House’ (at bottom of page) and was runner up in the Archibald Prize.
Nigel’s winning painting ‘Uncle Paddy’ (below) is on exhibition at Juniper Hall in Paddington. Admission is free.
Winner of the 2013 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize …. Uncle Paddy by Nigel Milsom. Photo: Supplied
Milsom’s Sydney gallerist Kerry Crowley,
CHRISTMAS IN GLEBE
Wreck the flats with ball and hammer
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Turf the tenants ignore their clamour
Fa la la la la, la la la la la
‘Tis the season to make lolly
Fa la la la la, la la la la la
For developers fat and jolly
Fa la la la la, la la la la la
Fast away the old Glebe passes
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Hail the new yuppie classes
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Now’s the time to join the chorus.
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Sing as others did before us
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Hear our voices, all together,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Stay and fight it’s now or never
Fa la la la la, la la la la …
Listen on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H69P694UTCk