Mood:
downTopic: nsw govt
Picture: Which big sister do you want with that latte?
Burgmann is the kind face of the wicked ALP Sussex St machine in this writer's opinion. By way of declaration we worked as a volunteer for Clover Moore's election to City Hall in March 2004 and more of that below - 95% pure we would say and the last 5% is the spice that makes her human and interesting too.
We would be voting for the Green Party candidate regardless in Sept 2008 on ecological emphasis alone.
Burgmann is in the news on abc 702 radio yesterday morning on the strength of the article in The Australian
12 March 2008 Ex-MP eyes Sydney Lord Mayor job - ABC News (Australian ...
Naturally the SMH has their own catch up today via trooper Wendy Frew:
13 March 2008 Candidates step up for city's top job - National - smh.com.au
In some ways both Moore and Burgmann are baby boomer dinosaurs of the progressive side of politics in the inner city but Moore has the edge for her lack of ideological blinkers which too often means cavalier 'any means to an end' behaviour.
It's not convincing or probitive to consider Burgmann was arrested in the Green Ban days - talk about ancient history - but she is forced to trade on that to argue she's against developer corruption. Her own colleague Jack Mundey has gone to The Greens as most thinking and honest environmentalists have.
In terms of currency in the South East Forest protests of the early 1990ies 1,500 people were arrested. Without wanting to sound agist or bigoted against baby boomers at least that's after The Beatles halcyon days of the early 70ies. What about the M2 tollway protests in 94-96? Eastern Distributor?
Indeed Burgmann dutifully voted for the outrageous undermining of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 by lower house colleague Knowles in the name of "integrated development assessment' around 1997-8. Similarly she rubber stamped every other draconian attack by the ALP Govt up until her retirement in 2007. That includes vicious, egregious Part 3A repeal of a raft of environmental legislation under the umbrella of the ground breaking 1979 Act.
For this alone Burgmann is totally compromised in relation to developers.
And we admire her history against the vicious aparthied regime over the Springbok Tour in the 70ies too but what about East Timor in the last 20 years? Might be a problem for the Whitlamites that.
It's no accident Meredith got to the top of the Legislative Council in the greasy pole rotten ALP machine. That's the real point here.
She's been to Bosnia and West Africa as we heard her talk but we felt it was rich white woman adventures on a disaster tourism holiday. This might be harsh and unfair but there it is.
It's the rotten ALP tag, and her decades long role now in sanitising that brand that will knock her out in a contest with proven independent Clover Moore just as Councillor Michael Lee was rejected convincingly by voters in all the socially disadvantaged areas of the expanded Local Govt Area in 2004.
A Federal MP for 17 years and Minister
It's no accident that ambitious power player Cr Verity Firth is Burgmann's niece (that old ALP brand tribalism again) and state govt minister who sits with Councillor Lee on Sydney City Council. Firth who is hand in glove with developer Sydney University preying on open space at Callan Park in her Balmain electorate.
So much for arms length from developers. Presumably Firth wants aunty Meredith to take over her workload while she steps up to 'Environmnet' ministry.
Nor is Burgman flattered by the poor governance of her feminist co author and former staffer Yvette Andrews at the very large community space at Addison Rd Centre:
Saturday, 16 February 2008How to get a $65Kpa community sector wage without any open job selection process?
Mood:sharp
Topic: local news
Who has presided over the destruction of the cyber gateway for over 8 months (work this writer did in good faith, non aligned, equal prominence to all tenancies):
addison road centre "Come back soon. We are just getting it better. This Website is still under construction."
Talk about cynical. This writer was moved to publish this satirical job advert
Addison Rd Centre General Manager Job Vacancy closing date 1st April...
Nor is Burgmann free herself of the Addison Rd taint of poor governance as mate Andrews is well known to protect Gallery director Cutcliffe, an ALP aligned grifter who has enjoyed 4 years rent free 2003-7 despite $30K paintings on private sale. Cutcliffe's lease has been sanitised with highly discounted lease from 2007 under Andrews management via a new 'non profit entity' created for the purpose with guess who reputed to be on that company directorships? It's unconfirmed but the claim by one tenant is that it is in fact Meredith Burgman who has given presentations at same gallery.
Turning to Clover Moore's credentials as Mayor of a big budget local government power centre while also State MP, this dual role was tested in 2004 with the electorate. Burgmann is trying to run this again but it doesn't resonate. In 2004 editor Gibbons of Sydney City Hub that we worked for 2002-7, said to the effect 'half Clover is worth more than 1 ALP'. Nothing has realy changed in that respect.
There have been political ructions and disagreements over say traffic in East Sydney and free press distribution protocols versus News Ltd MX free commuter paper. But not nearly enough to come near Burgmann voting for Part 3A.
Sure there has been dirt about some developer aligned donations from 'Living City' on the right of politics who wanted to prevent ALP hegemony at City Hall if their own couldn't win. And sure there are issues of precious Clover personality cult with any big ego, high powered personality. Or the shallow theatricality of PR postures - she once told me as a 2 month researcher in her parliament office in late 1992 that she changed her outfit 4 times for meet the electorate day given the diversity of her constituents.
But fact is Clover is not the corrupt ALP. And that's about all you need to know really.
Election declaration: Written and authorised by Tom McLoughlin, Marrickville tel 0410 558838, published as news comment.
