Traffic meeting 'chaos'
I attended the February 14 meeting called by Hurstville mayor Con Hindi to discuss the traffic problems related to the opening of Woolworths in Roberts Avenue, Mortdale.
Although Cr Hindi had called the meeting, he arrived 15 minutes late, claiming a previous commitment.
After a few short comments, he did not contribute anything of substance to the meeting, other than saying he had opposed the original development application and residents had voted in the councillors who supported it (many of whom he said did not bother reading the reports sent to them). So he implied the traffic problems now were our fault.
In the effective absence from the meeting of Cr Hindi, who spent most of the time talking loudly to a couple of people at the back of the meeting, Cr Michelle Stevens tried to keep the meeting going.
She was faced with a very angry crowd with different agendas about how to solve the traffic problems.
Many of the questions put by the residents and business owners could not be answered because the elected representatives present did not know the answers.
After one hour of going around in circles (or roundabouts, as one wit put it), the question remained why we were asked to attend a meeting at which there were no council employees present to answer our questions. We were told that the matter is due to come before the council again.
Jill Hennessy, Mortdale
