By SP Cllr Stephen Jolly
The council meeting on Tuesday last was a quite affair. Outrageously Council has decided, as seen in a media release this week, to ban access to local people to Richmond and Fitzroy pools for over one week in March next year and hand over the facilities to an international syncronised swimming event. For working class families, a day at the pool is a cheap and healthy time together. This issue will be debated in next weeks Melbourne Times.

I opposed the visit to Yarra Council by 17 industrial relations consultants from a Chinese Communist Party local government body. These people are in the frontline of driving down the wages and conditions of Chinese workers, a country where four million workers are in labour camps. Green Councillor and union official Jenny Farrar, however, was quite happy to accept their gift for Council and welcome them. I spoiled the party a little bit. I was in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and saw what the misnamed Chinese CP government and People’s Liberation Army did to their own people.

Almost all the residents who attended the Council meeting were there to complain about planning issues, or trucks driving down residental streets in the dead of night. All were there due to encouragement from me and shows the growing connection we are making in the area.

There is an important residents’ meeting tomorrow, Saturday 19th, about noise issues on Johnson St, Fitzroy. The venue is Fitzroy Town Hall, Napier St at 1.30pm. Yarra’s Public behaviour officer will be there and I will chair ithe meeting. Don’t miss it if you are concerned/interested in the question. Updates on Spanish Club, Laundry, Bull Ring and Provincial.

The following Saturday I have called a street meeting for residents about traffic management issues on Walker St, Clifton Hill. It’s at 4pm at the Walker St Scout Hall.

The public housing leaflet has gone out to 6000 voters in Yarra. In a couple of weeks our first election leaflet for all residents will be distributed, We need your help with letterboxing, contact us asap if you can assist.

The first debate between candidates in the election campaign was held last Thursday at the Richmond high rise, organised by the local residents’ association. Dick Wynne told the 70-odd in attendence how great his government had been to public housing tenants, but couldn’t resond to my point that public housing stock in Victoria has dropped in number since the government was first elected in 1999. Green Gurm Sekron spoke about the importance of the environment, but didn’t explain why the Green Councillors at Yarra had not supported my push for recycling for small businesses. The Liberal candidate said she believed people lived on the streets “because they wanted to, it was a matter of choice”!

I was happy with the debate and think I came out pretty well. It was a great opportunity to meet residents in Victoria’s largest public housing estate.

PS. If you can help on election day, Saturday November 25th, by way of handing out how-to-vote forms or helping with logistics PLEASE EMAIL OR PHONE US ASAP. We want a big crew to help us cover the 12 polling booths in the seat of Richmond (plus the two weeks of pre-polling at three booths). Phone 96399111 or election manager Andrew Calleja on 0434573994 for more details.

SP Councilllor Stephen Jolly