Public Meeting to Discuss Final Report on Newcastle and Hunter Planning

A Public Meeting (see full video above) was called on the 16 March 2015 in the Newcastle Town Hall to discuss the Final Report of the NSW Parliamentary Enquiry into Newcastle and Hunter Planning.

Public Meeting – Panorama – Newcastle Town Hall 16th March 2015 (Photo: Gionni Di Gravio)

The meeting was convened by Margaret Henry and chaired by Paul Scott.

Is the Rail Cut Legal? Poster (Photo Credit: Ann Hardy)

Speakers included (in order of appearance):

Nuatali Nelmes – Lord Mayor of the City of Newcastle (Australia)

Nuatali Nelmes – Lord Mayor of the City of Newcastle (Australia) (Photo Credit: Ann Hardy)

Jodie Harrison – Mayor of the City of Lake Macquarie

David Shoebridge MLC – Greens Member of the NSW Legislative Council

David Shoebridge MLC – Greens Member of the NSW Legislative Council (Photo Credit: Ann Hardy)

The Hon. Lynda Voltz MLC, Member of the NSW Legislative Council
[https://youtu.be/VnsiGY-2KDY]

Brian Ladd – NICRA (Newcastle Inner City Residents Alliance)

Joan Dawson – SOR (Save Our Rail)

Joan Dawson – SOR (Save Our Rail) (Photo Credit: Ann Hardy)

Kim Ostinga – Friends of King Edward Park

Michelle Burdekin – Whitebridge Community Alliance

David Blythe – Hunter Concerned Citizens

Cr Michael Osbourne – Greens Councillor City of Newcastle (Australia)

Cr Michael Osbourne – Greens Councillor City of Newcastle (Australia) (Photo Credit: Ann Hardy)

Jenny Aitchinson – Labor Candidate for Maitland

Milton Caine – Christian Democratic Oarty Newcastle

Tim Crakanthorp, MP – NSW State Member for Newcastle

With a selection of questions from the evening including:

Pat from Bulga

The Hunter Deserves Better (Photo Credit: Ann Hardy)

Wilderness Society (Newcastle Branch) Archives

The Newcastle Branch of The Wilderness Society is a local community environmental group whose mission is to protect, promote and secure the future of wilderness and other high conservation areas.

The Newcastle Branch of The Wilderness Society has members throughout the Hunter Region and has a strong interest protecting local areas of high conservation value.

Such areas include Stockton Bight, Jabiluka Uranium Mine, Tomalpin Industrial Estate, Tomago Sandbeds and the native forests of Barrington Tops and Jilliby Reserve.

The archives collection of the Newcastle Branch of the Wilderness Society spans the years 1976 – 2007. The Collection predominantly contains correspondence and publications relating to their environmental campaigns as well as media files on local, national and international environmental issues.

[DOWNLOAD] Wilderness Society (Newcastle Branch) Archives Listing Compiled by Melanie Patfield

Records of the Mayfield Residents Group

The Mayfield Residents Group was established in 1990 by a group of concerned citizens in an effort to bring a public voice to a wide range of community issues.

The aim of the group was to promote the interests of the people of Mayfield at all levels of Government. Pollution remained one of the central concerns of the group over the years and their successful campaign against the building of the Cleanaway waste treatment plant in Mayfield was one of their foremost achievements.

Over the years the Mayfield Residents Group established an effective communication channel with a wide variety of local industries and firms that ensured that the community’s comments and concerns relating to environmental impacts of proposed developments could be addressed.

The records of the Mayfield Residents Group contain a range of documents relating to the operation of the organisation as well as published reports and publications relating to the proposed developments that were under consultation.

The Mayfield Residents Group have been involved in consultations with a number of important organisations, industries and developments of national and international significance including:
•    Port Waratah Coal Service and the Aluminium Fluoride Plant on Kooragang Island;
•    B.H.P. Billiton and Comsteel (later part of the Smorgans Group);
•    Steel River Industrial Park;
•    Newcastle Port Corporation;
•    Cleanaway Waste Treatment Facility.

The Mayfield Residents Group has always championed the provision of first-class professional research into health impacts relating to the industrial developments in Mayfield. They were also a strong advocate for the independent monitoring of industrial emissions and were in regular contact with the EPA through representation at community forums.

The Collection contains material on a range of developments and environmental issues, including:
•    Road management, including traffic flow through Mayfield and developments in the Mayfield shopping area;
•    Transport routes through Mayfield for coal, chemicals and petroleum products;
•    Parks and playgrounds, including swimming pools;
•    Social issues, such as crime prevention, traffic and transport issues;
•    Air and water quality;
•    Waste management and hazardous materials;
•    Newcastle Local Environmental Plan;
•    Regional development of the Hunter Region.

The Mayfield Residents Group continues to be available for community consultation on a range of environmental and social issues that affect the sustainability of the region. Although regular meetings are no longer held, they remain a vital link to ensuring that the voice of the Newcastle community continues to be heard and considered.

The records were deposited by Dr Edward Flowers and accessioned April-May 2011 by Ms Melanie Patfield. The listing of the archival collections was made possible by the kind generosity of the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.

[DOWNLOAD] Records of the Mayfield Residents Group Listing