The August session of parliament was a busy one.  We thought to share some of the things that happened: 

-> Spoke against the new Bill which will give police powers to remove homeless people from Martin Place. The Government should be addressing the housing crisis not introducing laws to move on the  homeless.

Member for Newtown and NSW Greens spokesperson on WestConnex Jenny Leong MP, and Jamie Parker MP, Member for Balmain, have expressed their deep disappointment at media reports that Labor’s Luke Foley has now committed to all three stages of WestConnex.

The two local MPs are calling on the community to re-double their efforts campaigning against it.

Greens spokesperson on WestConnex and Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP, calls on Premier Gladys Berejiklian to seriously consider the City of Sydney’s alternate plan for WestConnex.

"What the city of Sydney plan shows is that there are genuine alternatives to the current WestConnex madness. Exploring these alternatives - that prioritize reducing congestion, sustainable transport options and much needed housing in our city - should be what the NSW state government is doing.

Today Jenny paid tribute in Parliament to Anti-Westconnex campaigner John Bartholomew. 

NSW Greens spokesperson on WestConnex and Member for Newtown Jenny Leong MP has responded to the release of the concept design for the WestConnex M4-M5 Link, calling on the NSW Premier to halt all works until she can justify the monolithic expansion of the WestConnex project.

“This isn’t normal ‘project evolution’, this is a leap from ape to man. We’ve seen WestConnex expand from a $10 billion, 33km tollroad to $45 billion maze of motorways that will strangle Sydney.

It’s unacceptable to have this level of expansion without the release of an updated business case or a revised cost benefit analysis. 

NSW Greens spokesperson on WestConnex and Member for Newtown Jenny Leong MP will respond to the release of the concept design for the WestConnex M4-M5 Link, including impacts on the local neighbourhoods of Newtown, St Peters, Annandale, Camperdown, Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Haberfield, Ashfield and Rozelle.

Ms Leong will call on the Premier to justify the massive expansion of this project and release updated cost benefit analysis and a new business case. 

Acting Federal Greens leader Scott Ludlam, Greens NSW Senator Lee Rhiannon and Greens NSW transport spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi MP, joined campaigners and community members at the SaveSydneyPark anti-WestConnex protest camp in Alexandria today.

Read in Parliament on 22 March 2016:

"I draw the attention of the House to the 12,866 individuals and non-government organisations that have made submissions to the new M5 Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] raising their concerns around the WestConnex and the new M5. I congratulate members of the local community campaign groups who worked so hard to inform the people of New South Wales and those directly affected by WestConnex about the significant and alarming impact this toll road will have on their lives and the lives of all their children and families. These groups include the WestConnex Action Group, NoWestConnex: Public Transport and the Save Newtown group.

I note that the list of all the submissions made to the new M5 EIS is over 180 pages long. This extremely large number of submissions highlights serious community concerns about this WestConnex toll road. I urge the Government to listen to them and their strong communities."

Links:

• Westconnex Action Group
• NoWestConnex: Public Transport [Facebook page]
• Save Newtown group [Facebook page]

WestConnex plans to expand Euston Road in Alexandria to 7 lanes leaving a mere 1.8 metres between the increased traffic and hundreds of residents living in apartments on Euston Road between Sydney Park Road and Maddox St.