Michael and all the L.A.K.E.S. Committee - congratulations on a very powerful event last night. I appreciated the chance to attend and hear all of the speakers on all sides of the debate, and for the chance to give my comments at the end.
This is the opening salvo in a much longer battle, I fear. Liverpool Council don't see themselves as answerable to the community - they just want to do the work as cheaply as possible (as administrtators they have to manage their budget to the satisfaction of the State Labor Government - their boss) and have the whole thing go away. Unfortunately, their compromise of "leaving water in the lake" doesn't address the real issue, which is to retain as much of the current environment as is possible.
Mr Lynch's surprise 11th hour letter promising that the lake will be kept water filled was, unfortunately, just a bit of spin - he's a smart man, and I'm sure he knows just how minimalist and flawed the result will be. I'm sure he just wants it to go away, too - the Election isn't that far away, so if the true effect doesn't become apparent until after March, it won't hurt him.
Michael from Landcom came to me after the meeting and agreed with me that there are ways to do it with minimal affect to the environment - they won't be the cheapest option, but he has committed to push them to Council, and for that I congratulate him. Unfortunately, I don't expect Council to be very keen on any alternative that ups the cost.
Our Greens NSW Upper House Member Sylvia Hale did arrive a few minutes after the start, but she was there for all but the opening, and she has vowed to help the cause. She has committed to take the matter to the NSW Parliament to give it State-level prominence, and she'll be presenting questions to Planning Minister Sartor on Cecil Hills behalf.
It's a good fight, but it's not over - just don't take the pressure off! Let's keep the lake, and get the Council to do what they're supposed to do and clean it up too!
Good luck Cecil Hills.The people of Hoxton Park know what it's like to deal with Liverpool Council and the way they treat residents.They should be working on cleaning up their image so let's hope they will use this so at least you all can benefit.We have said it plenty of times that no area is safe in Liverpool.
