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Use the navigation bar above to move to our other pages. As indicated by the headings these contain information on these topics:-

Council Restructure Proposal: The Greens believe that Wollongong and Shellharbour are ill served by the present preferential system of local government voting. A proportional representation system is available that would allow a fairer, more representative make up of Councils. Click this page to read more.

Media Releases: recent press releases are posted here originating from the Illawarra Greens, Greens NSW and other relevant sources. Also other public documents such as reports, studies and correspondance can appear in these pages.

About us: is a page of information about the Illawarra Greens - contacts, meeting times and places, electorates covered and what inspires us are all here.

Policy: all members of the Illawarra Greens are also automatically members of the Greens NSW and the Australian Greens. These pages detail the published policy statements of these three levels of the Greens Party in Australia.

Get Involved: here’s where we invite you to join us and help to reshape Australian society and save the planet as well. We welcome visitors to our monthly meetings or to most other events to check us out before committing to anything.

Campaigns: at any one time the Illawarra Greens are involved in various campaigns locally and nationally in pursuit of our policy objectives. This page details what we are currently campaigning for.

Mailing Lists: so our members can keep in touch with what’s happening we operate several online mailing lists, one of which is open to non-members also who may be interested in Greens activities. This page provides details of how to connect.

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**Illawarra Greens Final Meeting of the Year – bring some Christmas Cheer!**
Monday 1st December, 7pm, ACON, corner Ellen and Kenny Sts, Wollongong

NSW Greens State Delegates Council
6-7 December in Manly.

Saturday 22nd November, 11-3 – The 2008 Last Minute Gallery Exhibition
The Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation invitation to Coomaditchie Hall, RSVP to 4274 7477. Exhibition open until 28th November.

Saturday 22nd November, 10-3 – Chook Keeping Workshop
Free – put on by Sustainable Illawarra. Book before November 19 on 4227 7453

Friday 28th November, 6pm – Positive Producers Exhibition
Opening night, Vision and Space gallery, Moore St, Austinmer. Unique Eco-Friendly presents and produce

Saturday 29th November – APHEDA (Union Aid Abroad) Garage Sale
Fundraiser for Zimbabwe Trade Unions, Austinmer Scout Hall, Moore St.

Saturday 29th November, 10am – Don’t scrap CDEP
Lowden Square, next to Wollongong Rail Station

Wednesday 10th December, 7.30pm – A Closer Walk
A free screening of a film about AIDS, IPAC

SOME SUBMISSIONS

Friday 21st November – Metropolitan Colliery application for expansion
This proposal will include long-wall panels directly beneath the Woronora Dam, which provides water to Sutherland and Helensburgh: http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=2672

Thursday 27th November – Wollongong Mall Changes
Once again a push to open up the mall: http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/crownstreetmall.asp

Friday 5th December - Shellharbour Shared Path Strategy 2008
An update of the old Bike Plan with proposals for greatly increased bike/walking paths: http://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/default.aspx?WebPage=1057

Friday 12th December – ABC/SBS review
Don’t let them water down our wonderful independent broadcasters: http://www.abc.net.au/corp/haveyoursay/

Friday 19th December – Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act review
This Act has been a beginning but not very effective in protecting Australia’s biodiversity – tell them to beef it up! http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/review/index.html

The Illawarra Greens today called for the sacking of General Manager of Shellharbour City Council, Brian Weir. Council’s joint partner in the Shellharbour Marina Project, Australand, announced yesterday that work on the $100 million marina complex had been delayed indefinitely.

Greens Shellharbour spokesperson Sue Fleet said, ‘Mr Weir must take responsibility for this debacle. Serious questions are now raised as to how Shellharbour City Council allowed itself to be in a position where one party to the agreement could renege on its obligations without regard to the other party’.
The Greens are also calling for the release of the Original Management Agreement and each change to the agreement since its inception.
‘Brian Weir’s assertion in the media today that stringent safeguards were in place to protect Shellharbour‘s assets and ensure that the council would not be financially exposed, is laughable,’ Ms Fleet said. ’The Shellharbour community provided the land for the Shell Cove project. In the process, we lost our community golf course, local farmlands and the natural wetlands near South Shellharbour beach’.
‘Council has poured millions of dollars into the project in the 25 years since it was first touted in 1983’, said Ms Fleet. ‘Mr Weir derives a $30,000 p.a. bonus, paid out of the Shell Cove project income, to oversee the project. The potential conflict of interest is obvious. Is it any wonder that Mr Weir did not want the (former) councillors to review his contract?
The Greens are calling for the release of all financial documents relating to the project.
‘Australand’s decision to delay construction of the marina indefinitely must provide an opportunity for Council to withdraw from the project’, said Ms Fleet. ‘The Greens would certainly be in favour of this’..

Contact: Sue Fleet, Illawarra Greens, 0402 819 577

The ICAC report details corrupt conduct of some staff at Wollongong from the General Manager down, over many years.

Convenor of the Illawarra Greens Jill Merrin said, “the people of Wollongong have lived with the shady dealings of this Council for so long that we have started to believe it is normal.”

“This report shows that some senior managers and ALP Councillors have held their responsibilities of public trust in contempt. We hope that the Director of Public Prosecutions will follow through with the recommended prosecution of those found to have acted corruptly.”

The inquiry has found that General Manager Rod Oxley dismantled internal firewalls against corruption, allowing corruption to spread. The report states that “..council’s internal firewalls against corrupt conduct were largely undermined or ignored by Mr Oxley, creating a straightforward opportunity for corrupt developers to influence the DA assessment process from start to finish.”

“This most serious conflict of interest at the very top of Wollongong Council was allowed to fester for over 20 years,” said Ms Merrin. “Mr Oxley must be held culpable and be banned from serving on any boards of holding other positions of public responsibility.”

The Greens have also called for more consideration of ICAC’s recommendations for the prevention of corruption in Wollongong.

“Most of the recommendations provide for strengthened safeguards over how Wollongong does business. The community group Wollongong Against Corruption has also devised a Charter of Ethical Governance to ensure corruption cannot take root again in Wollongong.”

“We support most of ICAC’s recommendations, but we don’t support taking power away from the Council and handing it to state Planning Panels or the Minister for Planning.

“Independent Hearing and Assessment Panels should also not take the place of well-resourced, independent expert advice. We want to see IHAPs which always include environmental and heritage expertise,” said Ms Merrin.

“This report is a good start but we need more in-depth investigation into the corrupt relationships at the local and state levels. The Greens support the community’s call for a Royal Commission into corruption at all levels of government.”

Contact: Jill Merrin, Illawarra Greens, 0422 655 711

GREENS PLACE ALP ON NOTICE FOR STATE ELECTION

The Illawarra Greens has put the Labor Party on notice that it cannot rely on Greens preferences to win the four State seats currently held by Lylea McMahon, David Campbell, Noreen Hay and Paul McLeay.

“Polling reported by the Mercury has identified the Labor vote plummeting. These seats will now all need to go to preferences to determine the result. The stench of corruption around Labor combined with the poor quality of local representation, and Labors’ poor record in planning, local democracy and infrastructure spending has made it far from certain that the Greens will preference Labor ahead of Liberal in the next state election,” said Illawarra Greens Convenor Jill Merrin.

“The Illawarra Greens believe we are the party most able to provide an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable future for the people of the Illawarra. If the Greens do not win the seats, past voting trends indicate our preferences will be pivotal in deciding which party represents the region,” said Jill Merrin.

As a grass-roots, democratic party the Greens determine preferences at a local level, and the decision will be made close to the election by the local group members. The local ALP’s role in corrupt approval of development on Wollongong Council over a long period of time weighs heavily against Labor. NSW Labor’s developer driven planning laws, privatization agenda, poor environmental record and lack of investment in the region also count against them.

Contact: Jill Merrin, Illawarra Greens, 0422 655 711

GREENS CALL FOR FOR FULL DISCLOSURE ON SHELL COVE

Following the release of the Shell Cove Management Agreement yesterday, the Illawarra Greens have called for the immediate release of all the documents associated with the Shell Cove development.

Greens Shellharbour spokesperson Sue Fleet said, ‘We congratulate Shellharbour’s Administrator David Jesson on his decision to release the Agreement and all of its amendments. This is the first crack in the wall of secrecy that has surrounded the project since its inception’.
However, Mr Jesson has not agreed to release the associated Feasibility Studies, Annual Programs, Monthly Reports and the Tripartite Deed for the Shell Cove development.
‘The public is getting only part of the story’, Ms Fleet said.
The Management Agreement refers to various ‘development fees’ to be paid to Australand, including a management fee, a sales fee and a commission on annual profit.
‘Along with the 50% of final project profit for each partner, these extra fees mean that Australand could have ended up with more like 75% of the profit. This flies in the face of Council’s repeated claims that profits would be distributed 50/50 at the end of the project.’
Australand recently notified the Australian Stock Exchange they expect to make a profit of $275 million out of the project, while Council announced that it expects a return of only $59 million.
Ms Fleet said, ‘Australand’s commission is dependent on completion of the boat-harbour, but its construction has been delayed indefinitely, so we want to know where those extra profits will come from.’
‘On top of these dubious figures, we find that a 2002 amendment allows for the management fee to be paid from Council’s consolidated fund rather than from the project’s trust fund.’
‘However, Council has repeatedly assured residents that no Council funds were being diverted to pay for the Shell Cove project,’ said Ms Fleet.
For that reason, I was surprised to find that a part of the ‘Golf Course Residential’ area is to be developed and sold by Council alone, rather than by the Project. The Illawarra Greens call on Council to come clean about this and give details regarding the tender process for development of this area.
‘In light of Premier Rees’ statements about transparency of governance in NSW, we believe that there is absolutely no reason for the confidentiality clause included in this Agreement.
‘As far as we can see the Agreement does not contain any items of commercial-in-confidence that would be covered by the Local Government Act (1993). We are seeking legal advice as to whether council officers exceeded their authority in signing an agreement that contravenes the Act’.
‘Now that Council has decided to come clean on this major contract, we want to see full disclosure on all aspects of this long-running source of conflict and dysfunction at Shellharbour Council. While the Council is under administration, let’s take the opportunity to disclose the details and history of this contentious project.’

Contact: Sue Fleet, Illawarra Greens, 0402 819 577

The Illawarra Greens believe that democracy has suffered in both Wollongong and Shellharbour City councils because of their ward structures and election systems.

Both councils have this year been sacked by the NSW Government. Both councils have been dominated by the ALP for many years, entrenching relationships which, in the case of Wollongong (and probably Shellharbour) have led to systemic corruption.

With both Illawarra councils under administration, we have a unique opportunity for reforms to be carried out with the least disruption.

As just one example of how unfair the preferential system of voting used in our council elections can be, in 2004, in ward B in Shellharbour one group won both of the positions despite gaining only 29% of the primary vote. However, another group, which gained 34.5% of the primary vote, won no positions. In other words, 70% of people voted for someone other than the successful candidates.

The introduction of three or more councillors for each ward would require a proportional representation voting system to be used at council elections under present legislation, with far more democratic results.

In Shellharbour, we support the recommendation of Commissioner Richard Colley in his report of 9th July 2008 (Report into Shellharbour) that the Council should be restructured to three wards of three councillors, plus a mayor.

Wollongong City Council

We propose that Wollongong’s local government area be restructured into four wards also with three councillors for each ward, plus a lord mayor (see map for new ward outlines).

To read our proposal in detail click on the menu item above called ‘Council Restructure Proposal’

We invite scrutiny of the proposal and welcome your comments. Please email your thoughts and comments to us at convenor@illawarra.greens.org.au or secretary@illawarra.greens.org.au

In the days before the rest of NSW holds their local government elections, the Illawarra Greens hosted a public forum yesterday to discuss some of the reasons for the failure of democracy in Illawarra Councils.

Convenor Jill Merrin said, “democracy has taken a hit in the Illawarra over recent years, and we wanted to look at some of the strategies to clean up government.”

“With both of our Councils being sacked this year, there is obviously something going very wrong. The ALP-dominated Councils have become intimately involved with the development industry, and until that nexus is broken, we can only expect more of the same in future.”

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon spoke about the ongoing scandal that is the influending of decisions through political donations in NSW. She also spoke about the parallel weakening of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act in recent years.

“Despite Premier Iemma’s pledge to clean up donations following the Gong-Gate scandal, donations are still flowing from developers to the major parties. Now it is just more difficult to trace them because they are being funnelled through the party”, said Ms Rhiannon.

“The only solution is for the Rees government to properly ban corporate donations, and move towards full public funding of elections.”

Graham Larcombe, of Wollongong Against Corruption, spoke about WAC’s plans to introduce a Charter for Ethics and Good Governance. Over the last year WAC has also been active in raising the issue of corruption in the Illawarra, and lobbying for a Royal Commission.

The Illawarra Greens identified the current ward structures in Wollongong  and Shellharbour as a “gerrymander”.

Ms Merrin said, “the ward systems we have now effectively benefit the ALP, to the detriment of independents and smaller parties. Until these are changed to a more democratic system, with proportional representation, the ALP will continue to take the people of the Illawarra for granted.”

The Illawarra Greens presented their proposal for structural reform in Wollongong, to move to four Wards of three Councillors, instead of six wards of two councillors. Based on the electoral figures from the last election, the proposed structure includes Wards of approximately 27,000 electors each. See our proposal in detail click the menu item above headed ‘Council Restructure Proposal’.

“The Commissioner for the Inquiry into Shellharbour Council has recognised this and recommended a move to larger wards, and we believe that the same change needs to happen in Wollongong. The fewer wards that exist in a Council, the greater the level of representative democracy,” said Ms Merrin.

The meeting called for:
•    Democratic elections for Wollongong and Shellharbour Councils by March 2009
•    Structural reform to Wollongong and Shellharbour Councils voting systems
to ensure democratic proportional representation, before the next
elections
•    Premier Nathan Rees to honour former Premier Morris Iemma’s promise to
ban political donations before the next elections
•    A Royal Commission into corruption in the Illawarra

The meeting also supported the Wollongong Against Corruption “Democracy Now” rally to be held in Wollongong on election day, 13th September.

For more information, contact Lee Rhiannon 9230 3551, 0427 861 568, Jill
Merrin 0422 655 711