Council Meeting Sets Positive Tone

The Inner West Council has put the disruption and chaos of its first meeting behind it, with protesters respecting the right of residents to attend the meeting of the new Council and have their say about local issues.

Inner West Council administrator Richard Pearson called for respectful behaviour ahead of the meeting and was pleased that protesters largely heeded the calls for calm.

“The people of the Inner West certainly didn’t want to see a repeat of the scenes at the last meeting,” he said.

“I welcome the support shown by the three former mayors of Leichardt, Marrickville and Ashfield in calling for respect - we all share a commitment to build a stronger more effective local council.

“Last night’s meeting allowed us to set the tone for the Inner West Council that we want to create for the future - inclusive, respectful and constructive.”

“Now that we have established some of the fundamental building blocks for the new Council, we can move towards building a stronger local voice for residents of the Inner West.”

The Meeting allowed the Council to deal with a full range of matters, including formalising its opposition to the WestConnex project and updating the community on work underway to support residents facing work that has already started.

“We have hired a top lawyer, Tim Robertson SC, to advise us on possible legal challenges including injunctions on demolition work already underway,” said Mr Pearson.

“I have asked for this advice to be finalised as a matter of urgency.

“I am also finalising arrangements with the State Government to fund a local independent WestConnex compliance officer to respond quickly to concerns about ongoing work.

“Additionally, a full time Westconnex community liaison officer was approved by Council.”

The meeting also saw the adoption of the 2016-17 Budget, which will deliver a range of important local projects which were conceived and supported by the former councils and finalised the schedule of Council meetings for the year.

Council Meeting Sets Positive Tone

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