Greens Members for Newtown and Ballina have confirmed their support for the Australian Festivals Association’s (AFA) demands on the NSW Government as the internationally renowned Bluesfest threatens to move the festival to Queensland. The Director of Bluesfest has squarely pointed the finger at this government for their actions.

Jenny Leong MP, Member for Newtown

"The Greens absolutely support the AFA’s calls, in fact we consider what they are asking for to be the basic minimum standard for community consultation and evidence-based policy making,”  said Jenny Leong, Greens MP for Newtown.

"We’ve seen the Liberals and Nationals impose lockouts, attempt to shut down our city and stop us from dancing - and now they are throwing the same sort of uninformed and outdated views on our festivals and it’s having enormous consequences.

"The Greens were the only party in the NSW Parliament to stand strong and oppose the lockout laws when they were introduced - our position is clear - we oppose the Sydney and CBD lockouts, we support pill-testing and we want a thriving and creative live music scene,” she said.

“We need to stop the over policing of festivals - including banning sniffer dogs -  and support our musicians and the music industry in NSW."

Tamara Smith MP, Member for Ballina

“Today’s statements from the Director of the award winning Bluesfest are a real worry, this festival is such an important part of the local economy and our community,” said Tamara Smith, Greens MP for Ballina.

“Regional festivals don't want to suffer the same fate as Sydney when lockouts were introduced and to see a hugely successful Festival in its 30th year, fighting for its existence is shocking.

“This government seems hell bent on dismantling our music industry and closing down cultural events - it’s shameful.

“Bluesfest are just the latest business owners to worry about how to keep the lights on in the face of restrictive and over the top government actions and they are likely not the last."

Background:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-12/bluesfest-threatens-to-leave-nsw-over-government-policy/10802330

https://amnplify.com.au/an-open-letter-from-the-australian-festivals-association

Jenny Leong MP, Member for Newtown, tabled the petition signed by 10,000+ people in support of Keeping Sydney Safe and Open in 2016 - her speech is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zodvK5NVMQ

Today's announcement by the NSW Minister for Social Housing, Pru Goward on the plans for the redevelopment of the Waterloo housing estate represents one of the NSW Liberal National government’s largest sell offs of a public asset, according to NSW Greens Housing spokesperson, Jenny Leong MP, Member for Newtown.

“This is public land and right now there’s an urgent need for a significant action to address the housing stress people in our city are currently experiencing. 

“In the current crisis, it is unacceptable that 70% of the proposed development on this public land will be turned over to corporate developers to make massive profits  – it’s time to call a halt to this scam.

The Greens respond to the Report by the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Impact of WestConnex which was secured by the Greens and the community.

Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong MP:

“The evidence and Recommendations of the Report demonstrate that this project has been a debacle.

“The planning, delivery, financing and lack of transparency has caused significant negative impacts on the community.

“The damage that his project will have on our community is far from over with years of devastating construction and billions of dollars of expenses still to come.

The Aboriginal Housing Company has submitted modified plans for the Pemulwuy Project which includes aboriginal affordable housing and student housing on The Block. These plans and the submissions regarding this new proposal are currently being reviewed by the Independent Planning Commission and you can find details here.

According to the WestConnex M4-M5 Link interactive map showing the proposed tunnel depths throughout the Inner West, many homes located above parts of the route will be potentially irrevocably damaged, according to Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong MP and, Jamie Parker MP, Greens Member for Balmain.

Jenny Leong MP:

“Work on the M4-M5 WestConnex 8-lane tunnel should be stopped immediately as the impact on many residents’ homes along the route will be disastrous.
“Depths of between 16-25 metres under many residential streets in Camperdown, Annandale and Leichhardt are extremely worrying given the severe impacts we have already seen on homes in other areas at deeper tunneling depths,” she said.

Jenny Leong MP, NSW Greens Housing spokesperson has responded to the passing of the Residential Tenancies Act in Parliament today, praising some changes, but saying the new laws fail to give renters basic security of tenure by ending unfair no grounds evictions.

NSW Greens Transport Spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann has branded the troubled Westconnex toll road a textbook example of Government mismanagement, poor planning and skewed priorities following the first day of public hearings at the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the impacts of the Westconnex project.

“Today we heard compelling evidence from experts and community members which highlighted that Westconnex is a textbook example of Government mismanagement, poor planning and skewed priorities,” Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said.

In response to the bullying and corporate exploitation of one of Australia’s most significant and iconic public places - the Sydney Opera House, Greens MP Jenny Leong, Member for Newtown calls out the culture of bullying in NSW.

“I was appalled when I heard the CEO of the Opera House, Louise Herron, attacked publicly last week. This is about more than turning our beautiful public places into corporate collateral, this is about drawing a line in the sand and saying, enough is enough to the bullies in our community, she said.

The Greens have announced they will move a raft of amendments to protect renters, after the Fair Trading Minister today introduced a Bill amending the Residential Tenancies Act.

The government’s announcement by the NSW Roads Minister that the Gateway project to Sydney Airport will cost taxpayers $2.6 billion demonstrates yet again the extraordinary cost blowout of Westconnex at the expense of public transport solutions, the Greens NSW said today.

Cate Faehrmann MLC, NSW Greens spokesperson on Transport:

“It’s grossly irresponsible that the government continues to throw billions of taxpayers’ money at new toll roads and motorways at the expense of world-class public transport options,” said Ms Faehrmann.

“Tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money is being spent on funneling more cars and trucks onto toll roads to please private operators, yet a fraction of this could be spent on providing direct public transport options for the tens of thousands of commuters and travellers using Sydney’s Mascot Airport every day.

“If the government was serious about relieving congestion around Sydney Airport, it would buy back the airport stations from the private operator and get out of the contract that prevents direct bus services being provided to travellers,” said Ms Faehrmann.

Jenny Leong MP, NSW Greens spokesperson on WestConnex:

“The link to the Airport and Port Botany was one of the key rationales for the $16.8b WestConnex  project.  It’s now become a separate project costing a massive extra $2.6b and still does not link to Port Botany,” said Ms Leong.

“The Liberal National government’s lack of proper planning and exorbitant expenditure on WestConnex and now the Sydney Gateway is astounding given there are far cheaper and more effective solutions.

“This latest announcement that the Gateway link will be toll-free is not to be believed given the re-imposition of tolls on the M4 to make the sell-off deal sweeter for Transurban,” said Ms Leong.