If approved, Georges River Council's Master Plan will permit 969 new units to be built, meaning that this classic garden suburb will become a mini Wolli Creek.
Nine storey blocks will be allowed in Morts Road and Pitt Street, changing the pleasant shopping centre into a cold, dark wind tunnel. Developers will also have their eyes on quiet streets such as Cook, Victoria, Newman and St Catherine, as well as Macquarie Pl and Carrington Ave.
Peter Mahoney,
Oatley
Rates harmonisation between ex Hurstville and Kogarah Councils now amalgamated as Georges River Council
Some further facts should be stated regarding the "NEWS" article on P3 of Wednesday, September 8 edition.
At the time of compulsory amalgamation of Councils, the State Government stated that rates needed to be harmonised by June 30 2021.
Georges River Council amalgamated in 2016 - they have had five whole years to carry out this rate harmonisation - this could have been done gradually - with small percentage increases annually. Instead, they chose, in their wisdom or not, to apply the total 33 per cent increase necessary to harmonise and bring the ex Hurstville ratepayers in line with the ex Kogarah Council ratepayers making the level of rates consistent across the whole of the GRC area.
Bearing in mind that the ex Kogarah ratepayers have been paying this same rate, as the now ex Hurstville Council ratepayers, all along, i.e. including for the past five years allowing GRC to spend as they have pleased.
Remember this at the local government election now to be held on Saturday, December 4.
Paulette McFarland
The chin wearers and non-believers
As Bayside locals were doing our utmost to live within the law to get back to seeing our kids and grandkids. Daily walks along our beautiful Sans Souci are our only outings but being marred by people not wearing masks, chin straps and complete disregard for the law.
Send the police to fine these selfish individuals. They don't regard their well being and think less of ours.
Christine Thompson
Overland flood study Georges River Council
There may be a good story for the Leader in following the new Flood Study on the Georges River Council website. It mentions several "hot spots" (should be "wet spots") which will go underwater by up to 1m in a once-in-100-year flood. For example, the plan shows flooding through Ruby Wing Reserve in Universal St Mortdale, with costed plans to excavate a retention basin and roadwork closing Universal St for a while. Also examined is a big wet spot at the western end of Peakhurst Park behind the fire station, potentially flooded-out homes on the other side of Belmore Rd. There will be a pile of money spent before they can fix everything in the study.
Geoffrey White,
Mortdale
Environment concerns in Royal National Park
I alert your readers to the deceptive nature of recent NSW Government media releases covering Royal National Park.
Recently the NSW Government announced an $80M allocation to improve visitor facilities linking southern Sydney to the Illawarra, much of which will be in Royal. Additional media releases outlined that platypus will be reintroduced into Royal, and new legal protections will apply to threatened species within national parks across NSW. However, the reality of government action paints a vastly different picture.
The management plan for Royal is currently being reviewed and the publicly exhibited draft plan stated that threatened species and their habitats would be protected. However, the exhibited plan shows that the recent proliferation of illegal mountain bike tracks includes tracks that pass through such habitats. Why has this been allowed to happen, and why has there been no measures to remove them?
To make matters worse, the funding announced by the government aims to formalise many illegal tracks. While increasing legal protections for threatened species in NSW is welcomed, there are no plans to protect any within Royal. There are dozens of deserving species with restricted habitats within Royal, some of which are impacted by mountain biking that the government is condoning. Therefore we have 'green speak' from the government hiding the fact that it is not taking the protection of threatened species seriously and announcing funding for habitat damaging measures. At the same time, its management plan is being reviewed.
Royal and its threatened species deserve better.
Ross McDonnell,
Mortdale
Federal government's decision to scrap submarine deal with France
How embarrassing that our Prime Minister who just broke the submarine deal with France (at the cost of billions of dollars in compensation) comes from our own south Sydney area! Another uniquely stupid and wasteful Australian decision, and another example of Australia tagging like a small child after the older siblings US and UK.
Unfortunately, our Federal pollies aren't very bright, and neither are the people who advise them.
Anne Fedoson,
Banksia
Kogarah Bay Ward
I am pleased to see that Lachlan McLean is returning to local politics for Georges River Council in Kogarah Bay Ward. He is known for successfully campaigning to return the Dragons to Kogarah through the R2K campaign and being a fine Independent Councillor at Kogarah Council. Lachlan was always the one who listened to the residents and was the only Kogarah Councillor to vote against the excesses of the last Council Development Plan. I am confident he can help repair Council's fractured budget, restore Council's integrity and find the right solution to address the ongoing Carss Park pool fiasco.
Nick Stojanovski, South Hurstville
