28 April 2019

Rates : is 2.1% enough?

CPI : Consumer Price Index word

You might remember that our Mayor campaigned on a rate increase of CPI plus 1%. Council subsequently endorsed this earlier this year. It is my understanding that CPI for the last 12 months was 1.6% so the 2.1% is well within this guideline. My concern is that I have never sat on Council when we have had to borrow quite so much money. At the end on the next financial year our borrowings will be at 70% (of one years rates) and we have set ourselves  a maximum of  80%.
 We need to borrow money, in particular, to do the necessary replacement and redevelopment of the failing and ailing King William Road. Of the $8 million that we will need to borrow to do this the repayments on the loan are approx $400,000 each year for at least the next 20 years. A 1% rate rise would achieve the necessary amount to repay this loan. My problem with not doing this is that there will be little room in subsequent budgets to undertake new initiatives. Things like the clubrooms for the Millswood Croquet will be in jeopardy until the debt has been substantially paid down. This could be achieved, within the CPI plus 1% if Council chose to add .5% this year and a further .5% next year.

Full Council meeting April 29th 2019

Image result for 150 yearsYou may find the following items of interest;

  • Children's Crossings at Parkside PS: Following the Fund My Neighbourhood Program residents at Parkside received funding to make the area around the school safer. After public consultation  three solutions will be implemented. At least one resident wishes to give a deputation. 
  • Draft Annual Business Plan 2019-20: This proposes an increase in rates of 2.1% with a further .5% provided by growth (new developments and extensions). The projects includes new Operating Projects of $1 million, New Capital  of $17.191 million and Capital Replacement of $4.161 million. The majority of this money is going toward the replacement and redevelopment  of King William Rd. Other projects include money to complete the Goodwood Oval Grandstand, money to further upgrade Unley Oval facilities and improvements projects in Brown Hill Creek.
  • Volunteer Management Policy: Unley has 267 active volunteers who contribute nearly $million dollars worth of hours each year that assist in the running of Council programmes. This updates the Management Policy for these individuals
  • Reduction of the Use of Plastic Bottles Dispensed at Council Venues: In reality Council uses little bottled water and is making some effort to reduce the use further where possible.
  • Council Assessment Panel-Appointment of a Deputy Member: The CAP has 5 members, 4 of whom are Independent and one who is a Councillor. While the councillor has a deputy (Cr Wright) the Independent members do not. This has meant that from time to time there have been as few a 3 people making a decision that is binding.  A deputy will be able to replace any of the 4 independents for all or part of a meeting.
  • City of Unley Sesquicentennial Celebration: Unley is 150 years old in 2021. This motion asks for a working party to be formed to work on what celebrations would be welcomed by our residents
  • King William Rd Redevelopment (CONFIDENTIAL)

26 April 2019

Anzac Service

One again the Anzac service was very moving. There were many residents at the service and lots of students from local schools who also took part. The breakfast at the Unley RSL was also well attended and a good place to catch up with friends.  It's a pity that part of the event was the necessity to have in place orange water filled bollards at entrances where vehicular traffic would potentially be able to enter the event. This may become a feature at future events as the risk of terrorism is always present.

23 April 2019

Newsletter done!


Have just finished letter boxing out latest newsletter. Hope most were read before they went in the bin or took pride of place on the fridge. If you can't read this let me know and I'll send you a copy.



Millswood comes out on top

Image result for millswood houses for sale


Millswood was recently the most 'clicked' suburb in South Australia. According to the article because it wasn't quite Unley Park but every bit as good and quite a lot cheaper. This, of course, at an average of $1.3 million is not cheap!!                                                           

A better Boothby


Image result for a better boothby

This evening might be worth your time, especially if you are undecided in how you might vote. It will be all the better if all candidates attend.

A meet the Candidates evening for the electorate of Boothby. 
- Monday 29 April, 2019 - Blackwood Community Centre, 4 Young Street Blackwood.
- Wednesday 1 May, 2019 - Cumberland Park Community Centre, 388 Goodwood Road, Cumberland Park. 

Both events will commence at 7pm and run to 8.30pm followed by tea/coffee. 

The forums will be professionally moderated by Dr Benito Cao, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Adelaide. all candidates for Boothby have been invited to take part in these forums. Participating candidates will be given the opportunity to make a statement and respond to questions from the audience.  

This is a great opportunity to hear from and engage with our Federal candidates. More information is available in the events section of: https://www.facebook.com/abetterboothby/

21 April 2019

Stories from this week's paper



Image result for Clearway signs Unley




The state government intends to extend the clearway times for Goodwood, Unley and South Rd. They will will  be clearways until 10 am and after 3 pm . This will further damage the fragile retail environments on these streets.

Amalgamations are in the news again with the more calls this week to reduce the number of councils. So called savings seem small and probably not achievable.

Over development has risen as a topic in Campbelltown as that city is carved up following rezoning from the former state government. A recent visit to Prospect shows considerable changes to the streetscape from townhouse and apartment development. Unley continues to get increasing pressure from developers to do the same. The recent approval by the SCAP for the Kaufland development  will see the demolition of the existing buildings shortly.

Fixing eyesores, the storey on this was not from Unley but my recent letterboxing (April Newsletter) tells me that even Clarence Park has a few of its own. I'll take some photos later and add them to a new blog with a separate story.

17 April 2019

Getting an Email

I know many of you go into this blog quite regularly. If it is easier you can look to the right of the screen and there is a box that says Follow  by Email. If you subscribe to this Google will send you an email every time I update the blog. I cannot obtain these addresses so I will not know who you are. This way you never have to miss an update.

Council's response to recycling

Visy Cardboard




Council have now signed a contract with VISY Paper to accept and sort Council's waste that goes  to recycling. You may find the following video clips of interest.

The corporate video is designed to give employees, customers and the wider community and insight into the world of Visy, as it explores our business capabilities and proves why we are leaders in the industry.

Corporate video - https://www.visy.com.au/recycling/about/

The education video provides a more detailed explanation of the different material types that can and cannot be recycled through the Visy sorting system   



Did you watch the 60 minutes story on recycling?


HERE IS THE INDUSTRIES RESPONSE.Image result for recycling dumped in landfill












Australia’s recycling industry is concerned that Sunday’s 60 Minutes program didn’t paint the full picture of Australia’s recycling efforts and didn’t highlight the industry’s contribution of some 50,000 jobs and $15 billion in value, with real potential for more benefits.

The report included: a false claim that much of Australia’s plastic waste is being disposed of incorrectly in south-east Asia; didn’t sufficiently highlight recycling’s many upsides, and; should not discourage the vast majority of Australians who regularly recycle to keep doing so because their efforts matter.

Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) CEO, Peter Shmigel, said: “Australian recycling is highly successful, despite some ill-conceived claims in the broadcast. In fact, up to 90 per cent of material collected for recycling is made into new products.”

Waste Management & Resource Recovery Association (WMRR) of Australia CEO, Gayle Sloan, said: “Australia’s industry is aiming to get even better through investment, innovation and community education to build a stronger domestic recycling system, and is therefore advocating a new labelling scheme for community confidence.”

National Waste & Recycling Industry Council CEO, Rose Read, said: “The community votes in favour of recycling through its very strong participation. We encourage householders to continue to separate and sort their recycling correctly to reduce contamination and realise the environmental and economic benefits of recycling.”

According to the National Waste Report 2018 undertaken by the Commonwealth Government, plastic exports from Australia decreased last year by 25 per cent.

It also found that:

Australians generated 67 million tonnes of waste (including 13 million from kerbside collections)
37 million tonnes of waste was recycled (5 million from kerbside collections)
33 million tonnes of the recycling was undertaken in Australia
4 million tonnes of material was exported from Australia for recycling (over 50% being metal)
It is estimated that between 10 and 15 per cent of kerbside recycling cannot be recycled because it is contaminated with nappies, soft plastics, garden hoses, bricks and batteries.

A claim was made by 60 Minutes that 71,000 tonnes of recyclable plastic was exported to Malaysia.

“If the claim that all these materials are not being properly processed is accurate, this is very concerning, as there are also legitimate processors in Malaysia. 71,000 tonnes represents less than 2 per cent of the 4 million tonnes of what is actually exported and less than 0.2 per cent of the 37 million collected for recycling,” Mr Shmigel added.

“The community want and support kerbside recycling. With better support from all levels of Government, the waste management sector is well-placed to achieve better recycling outcomes,” added Tony Khoury from Waste Contractors & Recyclers Association of NSW (WCRA).

The local recycling industry, which employs more than 50,000 Australians and generates up to $15 billion in value, is currently making some of the most advanced recycling investments in the world in response to the impacts of restrictions across Asia, including high-tech infrastructure to improve sorting and processing to produce high quality materials from recovered waste from households, businesses and construction sites.

Recycling groups including the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR), Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR), the Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA), Waste Contractors & Recyclers Association of NSW (WCRA) and National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) have been urging greater investment, regulatory reform and policy support from Governments.

A recent Reachtel survey commissioned by ACOR found that almost 93 per cent of people said reducing waste and recycling products into new products is important to them and 87 per cent supported increasing recycling and reducing landfill by processing food and garden material from rubbish bins into useful products.

“There is not a shred of doubt that the industry wants to see maximum resource recovery. Our local industry is investing heavily and working collaboratively to upgrade local processing capacity which in the past were, to some extent, built to meet China’s previous specifications,” added Ms Sloan.

“We need a Made with Australian Recycled Content label which will do two key things – empower the community to take action and ownership of the materials they consume and incentivise manufacturers and brand owners to include recycled content in their packaging and products. This will create new markets for recycled materials and ensure a sustainable future for kerbside recycling, local resource recovery, and remanufacturing. Developing any industry is a collaborative effort and one that takes time. As we move forward, the industry is seeking leadership from all levels of Government.”

13 April 2019

We Need Your Wool





Wool donations needed

We Need Your Wool

The Unley Crochet Crew intend to share some love and warmth through the community this winter. They are kicking off their Winter Warmers charity drive in May by making winter wearables for donation to local charities. If you have wool you would like to donate to the cause please drop it into the Unley Civic Library.


Proposed fence: Page Park


AS many of you are aware the prospect of dogs running onto the tennis courts while players are on the court has become an issue. Council has suggested the above solution. Your thoughts please?

Unley Night Markets



The Unley Night Markets previously held at the Target car park will be relocating to the Village Green for a summer series of events designed to utilise this great space and bring vibrancy to the Unley Central precinct.

The market operators are really excited about expanding their offering to utilise the green space by adding children’s activities such as a petting zoo, bouncy castle etc which were not possible at the car park location. The events will run from 5:30pm-10pm once a month on Friday evenings and will offer delicious street eats, market stalls and live entertainment.  Kick back, relax and grab a glass of wine from the pop-up bar, enjoy the atmosphere of the market with friends and family. Unley Night Market will feature up to 50 handmade market stalls and will provide family entertainment such as bouncy castles, traveling farm, roaming entertainers, live music and dance performances for all ages to enjoy. The market will be operated by Alex from Market 2 Market who is an experienced market operator and I have no doubt that she will deliver a high quality events program.

The markets will run from October to April with the following dates proposed:

• 18th October
• 15th November
• 20th December (Christmas Market)
• 17th January
• 25th January (Australia Day long weekend special market)
• 21st February
• 20th March
• 17th April (kids themed night market for school holidays)


11 April 2019

Fish Tank winners


On Thursday 4th April 2019, the Fish Tank Pitch Night was held in the Unley Town Hall. Thank you to those who were able to attend.

Fish Tank 2019 was an exciting program designed to engage, support, celebrate and invest in the young people of Unley. One of the key objectives of the City of Unley’s Living Young Action Plan 2018 – 2021 is to ‘Engage and Enhance Leadership in young people’. This is facilitated by enabling the development of business and entrepreneurship capacity in young people as well as providing linkages between young people and local business networks

Please join me in congratulating our winners;

12 – 17 year category

1st prize
Pitch title: Offolio Zon
Aria Bradley, Lucy Seppelt, Parnia Hatami & Adem Yelegin
A phone case for iPhones that has inbuilt solar panels. A charger in the case that connects to the phone and charges it. An app which allows you to control when you would like to use the stored power. A convenient way of using renewable energy.

2nd prize
Pitch title: Living on the Edge
Anannya Kapoor & Elise Westrich
Blank walls in Unley will be filled with murals of sorts, however, they will be made of air purifying plants. The murals will consist of plant pots which add up to be a colourful design on the wall. Plants such as areca palms which have high air purifying qualities will help cleanse the air and make Unley brighter.

18 – 25 year category

1st prize
Pitch title: Local Threads
James Adcock & Kenji Ireland
Local Threads is an online website dedicated to giving small Australian clothing brands a platform to sell their unseen fashion.

2nd prize
Pitch title: Lycan Soap
Charlie Stone
Hand-made medicinal soap and shampoo bars for both people and animals. Concept involves maintaining a low eco-impact and providing products that feel good and are good for you and your pets. Key selling factors associated with the soaps are their versatility; they’re great for skin and hair, with medicinal benefits including assisting people who suffer chemical sensitivity from many mainstream soaps.

We were delighted to have so many enthusiastic and supportive sponsors on board this year - a huge thank you to Business SA, Rotary Club of Unley and The Gift Specialist on Unley Road.

Please click here - https://youtu.be/H8V7_Th0gpA to view the promotional video,.

Leah St to be rebuilt

The failing road surface in Leah St is evident to most people who use it regularly. As the road needs to be reconstructed Council are currently consulting  residents on what look and feel they want in the street
The key features of the proposed improvements include:
  • Kerb extensions to slow vehicle movement through each intersection, as well as improvement pedestrian safety and access crossing Leah Street and adjacent side streets
  • Kerb extensions to provide increased area for streetscape landscaping and increased tree planting
  • Distinctive coloured intersection pavement treatment
  • Retention of Leah Street road humps
  • Strengthen pedestrian connection between Wilberforce Walk, Unley Swimming Centre and Forestville Reserve across the neighbourhood.

07 April 2019

Bogged Down in Meeting Procedures

Image result for just ask cartoon


After spending hours making small, but necessary, changes to our current procedures we eventually got to the selection of members  for internal and external positions. For regular readers of my my blog you will remember that I was annoyed that these meeting procedures had been changed at a whim for our February meeting. After much discussion we decided we liked them the way they are. The problem was with how staff were interpreting the written word when it came to counting the vote. One of things I tell my students is that if you don't understand something just ask, chances are nobody else understood it either!

Container legislation could include wine bottles


Image result for wine bottle recycling


The suggestion from Cr Rabbitt that wine bottles be included in the Container Deposit Legislation has moved a step forward. The Local Government Association has accepted our motion, with amendments to be discussed at the Ordinary Annual General Meeting later this year. The motion reads as follows:

That the Ordinary General Meeting requests the LGA to investigate whether there is sufficient support across Local Government to request the State Government amend the Container Deposit Legislation (incorporated into the Environment Protection Act 1993) to include wine bottles, and to achieve consistency with the treatment of other glass bottles in the waste stream, an increase in the recycling of bottles, and a reduction in the contamination of other recycled waste caused by broken glass.

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Goodwood Oval Update


The new scoreboard was used for the first time this weekend. It was built using funds from the Fund My Neighbourhood initiative of the Labor Government. The amount given was $35,000. It will also be able to be used for Movie Nights that the Council run during the summer months. Questions have already been asked about when the old scoreboard will be removed.
Council have approved the construction of a small storage shed to support the needs of soccer and hockey. It will be constructed under the stairs and should be, as far as reasonably possible, very inconspicuous.
I attended the annual giving out of the jumpers on Friday evening. It was great to see almost as many girls as boys now wanting to play football. I love the Saints attitude of being fair and respectful to all potential players and ensuring that everyone gets a game.