Danby and Marrickville Preferences
Dear Editor,
The NSW Opposition apparently plans to issue no preferences in the coming State election in the seat of Marrickville. This is a marked contrast to the Liberal policy in Victoria at the recent State election which the Liberals won. The Liberal decision not to issue preferences against the Greens is made possible by the optional preferential voting system. It will mean that the chief proponent of the Watermelon faction of the Greens, Fiona Byrne, the woman who has driven the boycott Israel policy as Mayor of Marrickville may well be elected to the NSW Parliament.
Remember Marrickville General Manager Ken Gainger revealed that 86.25 hours of staff time have been devoted to trying to implement an anti-Israel resolution plus an unspecified amount of ‘unrecorded time’. The cost is said to be ‘unquantifiable’ because Council staff do not operate according to a time costing system (informally we have heard that the cost to date is well over $30,000 – and that’s even before the formal report about implementation has been completed).
This is a scandalous waste of resources. Marrickville Council has never received a mandate from ratepayers for this expenditure of their money which could have been applied to fixing broken footpaths, clearing dumped rubbish and upgrading the library and other local services. Voters in NSW do not need a ratbag local councillors in the NSW Parliament. Unfortunately the decision of the NSW Opposition to sit on the fence means that an avowed enemy of the Australian Jewish community maybe elected to Macquarie Street. At this eleventh hour, I hope the community can pressure the Libs to do the right thing and get them to stop this Green radical being elected.
Michael Danby MP
Federal Member for Melbourne Ports
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALXR0yl0uBc
Danby listen to uncle howard….
Get a sense of humour and relax peeps!!
You say that Marrickville Council is the only Council in Australia to have joined the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) Campaign against Israel – however I suspect that as with the boycotts against apartheid in South Africa this campaign will grow and history will write that Marrickville Council was the FIRST Council in Australia to join the BDS movement.
It is good to see that Randwick Council will oppose all forms of religious discrimination and anti-Semitism something they share with the BDS campaign. I note that they do not include Israel in the call to oppose all forms of religious discrimination and we don’t have to look far to see why:
Late last year Israeli Cabinet ministers on Sunday approved by a majority vote an amendment which would require every non-Jew wishing to become a citizen of Israel to pledge loyalty to “the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”
And today Haaretz reports that the Israeli government-owned Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem is trying to evict a resident because he isn’t Jewish. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/state-company-trying-to-evict-evangelical-christian-from-jerusalem-s-jewish-quarter-1.348005
Sorry I ommitted the fact that it is the Motion of Randwick Council
“the decision of the NSW Opposition to sit on the fence ”
It is up to the individual to decide to whom they wish their preferences. Carmel Tebbutt is not giving anyone hers either.
I already suggested that Tebbutt and Tyler exchange preferences, because otherwise they are more than likely to have Byrne as their new MP
Hopefully the Motion which has just been passed this week, will put a “cat amongst the pigeons” I already have been made aware that the General Manager is not a happy man, due to this.
This is the Motion that was passed, with a few small word changes. I am waiting on the minutes of the meeting to be released. My ‘future’ State MP is having them rushed through for me
FROM: Councillor Kiel Smith – North Ward (Liberal)
DATE: 13th February 2011
SUBJECT: Full and Open Competition Policy at Randwick City Council
That Council:
1. Acknowledge that Australian Foreign Policy is the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government and not Local Government.
2. Note that Marrickville Council is the only Council in Australia to have joined the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) Campaign against Israel. Further that Marrickville Council has adopted a policy of boycotting all goods made in Israel and any sporting, academic institutions, government or institutional cultural exchanges.
3. Request SSROC to immediately remove Marrickville Council Staff from SSROC procurement tender panels until Marrickville rescinds its current procurement policy, which is non-competitive.
4. Councillors acknowledge their intention not to approve any SSROC procurement tender where a Marrickville Council Staff member sat on the procurement panel until such time as the policy is rescinded.
5. Continue to practise full and open competition policy (competitive procurement) so as to deliver the best value for money to Randwick residents & ratepayers.
6. Joins with the United Nations, the Australian Federal and State Governments and interfaith leaders in refusing to support the BDS campaign and in opposing all forms of religious discrimination and anti-Semitism.
7. Write to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) asking it to investigate the effect the current Marrickville Council boycott on Israeli sporting, academic, government and cultural institutions has on Israeli citizens and people of Israeli heritage living, working or studying in Marrickville.
8. Note that it is NSW Greens policy to support the BDS campaign and that all Marrickville Councillors representing The Greens & the Australian Labor Party voted to support the BDS campaign & boycott policy.
9. Calls on the NSW Greens to publicly acknowledge that they have voted to support the BDS Campaign and acknowledge it via their website and election material.
10. Write to the NSW Greens candidates for Coogee, Heffron and Maroubra requesting to know whether they support the BDS campaign and whether if elected they will seek to influence Randwick Council procurement policy.
http://businesspapers.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Open/2011/OC_22022011_AGN_AT.PDF
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