Hi everyone – please spread the word to your networks, facebook groups
etc; there will be a mass rally where east meets west at Victoria
Square on 31st October at 1pm to protest against the rampant
destruction of our farmlands and open space by this Labor government.

The western contingent will meet at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel at
11.30am in preparation for the walk into town to meet the eastern
contingent, some of whom are walking all the way from Mt Barker! We
need to make this a really good one and add to the pressure on this
government to change its modus operandi and back down on the land
grabs happening all around Adelaide.

Please pass this onto all the community groups you know that are
concerned about the loss of open space and the influence of
development interests over the government.

Thanks and Regards Kirsten

Hi everyone – apologies for not being in touch for a while; we have been busy making plans for the SCRRA AGM on 24th May (there will be notices out via the post on this shortly asking for nominations for the committee and providing an outline of some amendments that are proposed to our constitution to tidy a few things up) and we have also been getting our letter-boxing campaign up and running again in advance of the Council Elections in October (more about that later).

We have also had a few meetings with Council and government representatives over what is planned at St Clair. There is not much to report so far from these meetings other than that we have continued to raise questions that they do not apear to have fully thought through and a further meeting is planned on the 29th April with the Council and LMC CEOs at which we hope to get some answers. We will keep you posted and please come along to the SCRRA AGM so that we can give you a good update. (Please let me know if you don’t receive a notice in the next week or so).

You may have heard there was a “community day” at Cheltenham recently on the new “Actil Park”; those that were able to go can report that there were generally more Council “green shirts” in attendance than there were residents (at what cost we can only imagine!!). I have attached a copy of the feedback sheet (and my email below) that I have forwarded to Michelle Mader at the Council, to describe some of the things that we value about St Clair Park and our opposition to the loss of it as open space. I am sure that there were others who also handed in their thoughts on the day!

The Council will also be consulting next week on the “revitalisation” of Woodville Road – this includes the TOD on St Clair – so please feel free to go along to their “visioning workshop” on the 21st April and tell them exactly how you feel about the proposed TOD apartments on the park!! It will be held at 7pm at the Woodville West Torrens Football Clubooms off Oval Ave at Woodville South. We have made no commitment to contribute to this as an organisation as we do not agree with what they are doing at St Clair, however you may want to go along and have your say about it!!

Please let us know if you are interested in getting involved in the campaign to get better representation back onto the Charles Sturt Council – we would be happy to hear from you! We will also be cranking up our fundraising again and getting the cake stall etc back into action – stay tuned!!

Lastly – thanks very much again for your help and good wishes during the election campaign; I am pleased to report that we did give them a scare, and we were also successful in helping to get another independent candidate into the Upper House; Kelly Vincent of Dignity4Disability – we wish her all the best!! The Community Voice Coalition is alive and kicking and we intend to grow this as an avenue for grassroots community groups like ours to support one another and campaign for more accountability and honesty in local and state government.

All the best and hope to see you at the AGM, if not before!! Please don’t forget the Council meetings are on every 2nd and 4th Monday at 7pm; it is always good for them to know that they are under scrutiny!! Also stay tuned to the Save St Clair Recreation Park!!! Facebook page or CharlesSturtRatepayers.org for regular updates.

Thanks & Regards……..Kirsten

PS Email to Charles Sturt follows….

Michelle – you and Natalie received much of this feedback from us at the meeting, but I thought it would be useful for you to have a written copy of it too. I have not bothered to repeat all of the questions that we have raised previously (and I look forward to discussing these with the two CEOs), but in this feedback sheet I have concentrated on what I know the residents value about St Clair Park in the vain hope that someone, somewhere in the Charles Sturt Council administration actually does care about what we think.

The residents we represent are totally opposed to the use of St Clair Park as anything other than open space. You only have to look at the previous referendum held by Council in 1964 on St Clair Park to know what the result would be today if you had truly put this to the residents of Charles Sturt. There is no reason to suspect that the answer would be any different today and all the pretty pictures and propaganda in the world from you and the LMC are not going to change our minds about apartments going on our park; surely you can not blame us!!

Regards…….Kirsten Alexander

PS I realise that this is slightly after your cut-off date, but I trust you will accept a late submission from us, as you did from the LMC in relation to the land swap…

We are ready to continue our fight on behalf of the people of South Australia to protect and defend what we value and believe in. There will be a public protest meeting this Sunday, March 28th at 1pm on the Steps of Parliament, North Terrace.

Come along and let your voice be heard.

Mr Rann has said the Labor Party is out of touch. Here is your chance to come and tell him what you think about his party’s election fraud in the key marginal seats as well as reminding him that he hasn’t been listening to the people of South Australia with regards to Glenside Hospital, St Clair Reserve, Cheltenham Race Course, relocating the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Protecting our Parklands and our Communities from inappropriate development, and a range of water-related issues including the Murray and Desalination.

Bring your posters, bring your banners, and bring your family and friends. Its time to remind the Government of South Australia who is in charge of this state, namely we the people of South Australia.

Please publicise this article by sending it along to your fellow South Australians who care about the future of our State. I look forward to seeing you there. The text of the flier is below.

Community Voice Coalition – Community Protest

Come Join Our Community Protest and Help Stop Labor’s Election Fraud

When – Sunday 28 March 2010 at 1:00 PM
Where – Parliament House Steps – North Terrace, Adelaide

Real Community Action Against Fraudulent Election Processes
The Community Voice Coalition is organising a public protest rally against the fraudulent how-to-vote card practices of the Labor Party during last weekend’s elections. Like most in the community, we are disgusted and dismayed by this fraud perpetrated against the people of South Australia by candidates of the Labor party who want us to entrust them with the responsibilities of public office and government.

Come along and express your opinion regarding this election, the lack of the most basic principles of honest behaviour expected by our Community, and the loss of your support for these people to represent their electorates and the people of South Australia.

Mike Rann has said that they have lost touch and he wants to know what you think! Come tell him.
Come tell Mike what you think of his government. Its failure to expel these candidates and its failure to call fresh elections in the electorates where these un-ethical, immoral, and un-Australian activities of fraudulent how-to-vote cards took place.

If you want honest, ethical government, you have to fight for it. Its never been any different. Come join us in the next battle for honest, open, and accountable government.

Community Voice Coalition

CVC is a cooperative undertaking by disaffected citizens who care about our community – including the St Clair Reserve, Glenside Hospital, Cheltenham Racecourse, Burnside Save Open Spaces, Save Our Suburbs Adelaide, Parkland Preservation, Save The RAH and a range of water-orientated issues.

What a busy year 2010 is shaping up to be for us!

We are surrounded by lots of political activity and media news at this time with our forthcoming State election. Our continuing efforts to save St Clair are being referenced in the press/media along with Cheltenham and other related matters. (Latest article in the Australian on Friday February 26 on page 7; we have made the national news! There have also been weekly stories in the Weekly Times Messenger).

Thank you to all our enthusiastic members and supporters who continue to write letters, pound pavements, send donations, bake cakes and attend rallies!!!

Political Candidates

The exciting news is that we are supporting 3 candidates at the upcoming State election on March 20.

Two will be in the Lower House (House of Assembly) and they are………………..

Henrietta Child in the seat of Cheltenham; Vote 1 Henrietta Child

Max Galanti in the seat of Croydon; Vote 1 Max Galanti

And in the Upper House (Legislative Council) as number two on Independent MLC David Winderlich’s ticket, our very own Save St Clair Spokesperson: Kirsten Alexander.

To vote for Kirsten, vote 1 for David Winderlich above the line, as the votes are pooled to get David and then Kirsten in.

David Winderlich has been a strong supporter of the Save St Clair campaign, as well as other open space issues such as Glenside. He was instrumental in getting the Ombudsmans Inquiry into the St Clair land swap. We really do need him to be re-elected so that we can have a voice in the Upper House. If Kirsten is elected also that would be a wonderful bonus!

We congratulate these candidates on their preselection and wish them all the very best in their endeavours which they will be making on our behalf.

Let’s offer them our support in any way we are able. We also urge you all strongly to consider supporting these candidates when voting and remember “PUT LABOR LAST” if you want to support our community candidates and Save St Clair.

We have formed an alliance with other independent community groups standing in the election (Save the RAH Party, Save Glenside, Dignity for Disabled, the United Party and other independent candidates concerned about community issues) called the Community Voice Coalition. Together we have identified common ground and share a commitment to community and democracy. We have agreed to support each other with preferencing and to support one another’s campaigns.

Financial Support

Electioneering requires financial support which is especially difficult if standing independently. We would really appreciate any donations and have opened a new account in anticipation!! Donations can be sent by cheque made out to:

St Clair Reserve Ratepayers Association

PO Box 418

Woodville 5011

Alternatively we ask that you consider automatic debit into our

Bendigo Bank Account

BSB 633000

Account No 139245427

Please don’t hesitate to contact us on info.csratepayers@gmail.com or stclaircommittee@gmail.com if you can help in some way.

Cake Stalls

Yes, we will be running a Saturday cake stall at St Margaret’s Church on the corner of Woodville and Port Roads. Come along 8.30-11.00am Saturday 6th March and stock up on some delicious homemade cakes and treats and support St Clair Reserve at the same time. The two cake stalls held already have been a great success and we sold out completely!! Many thanks to those who donated for these and we welcome donations for the next one! Please wrap and label all ingredients and deliver to the stall on the day from 8.00am

T shirt sales

You can now purchase your very own Save St Clair T shirt to help advertise our message. We would love to see lots of people out there wearing them. Please contact Leni Brown or Luciano Agostino via the Save St Clair Recreation Park!! Facebook site to order one and see the design!!

Letterbox Fitness Club

This runs nearly every Sunday morning. Participants can look forward to getting fitter and leaner while making new friends and letterboxing. We are looking to increase our walking membership as the more walkers we have the greater the area we can letterbox and the healthier our residents will be. If you haven’t already joined us, why not come along? Help save the park and a create a new, fitter, leaner you!

Contact; Craig Cameron on 0417 039 324 for details.

If you are unavailable Sunday but would like to help in your own time, we would still love to hear from you.

Ombudsmans inquiry into St Clair

Hearings are currently underway. A big thank you to Woodville Councillor Robert Grant and MLC David Winderlich along with other supporters who have had the courage to stand up and really get this up and running. The inquiry will now be a Royal Commission. Please contact Megan Philpot Deputy Ombudsman on 8226 8699 if you have information that you think will be of interest.

Charles Sturt Council Meetings

These are held on the first and third Monday night of every month, and we will be attending these meetings to keep reminding the Council of who they were elected to represent: the ratepayers! SEE SEPARATE UPDATES!!

At the last meeting residents attended wearing their T-shirts with various messages!! As signs are no longer allowed (under which regulation exactly we are not too sure!) we had to resort to T-shirts and some specially composed verses to get our message across!

Please come and support Cr Robert Grant who continues to try to obtain some transparency for the community in the form of an independent valuation for St Clair as a residential site, to ensure that ratepayers are properly compensated for its disposal.

Please note for all future meetings; We are no longer able to carry in banners etc any more so please attach your message to your clothing. Wear It!!

We need to continue to make our presence felt in strong, peaceful, unity, and our focus for the next meeting will be to remind the Council once again that they do not represent the majority view. LEST THEY FORGET WHAT ST CLAIR MEANS TO THE COMMUNITY. We are currently circulating a petition calling for an independent Judicial Review of the land swap as we do not believe that the decision by Minister Hill to approve it can be considered independent of the government. Turn up from 6.30 onwards, and  those of us not allowed access the the chamber will hold their own meeting in exile!!

Most of all: Thank you for your continued support and stay strong – people power will win at the end of the day!!! (Just look at the Government backflips and embarressments over the past few weeks – it’s not a good look going into an election is it!?).

St Clair Reserve Ratepayers Committee

Members and supporters of the St Clair Reserve campaign,

This is the Reserve & here are some of the Trees we are fighting to keep for the enjoyment of residents & ratepayers.

This Thursday at 5.00pm, there will be a rally on the steps of Parliament House at 5.00pm.

You might have heard today’s news that the Government has backed down because of our legal challenge and that they will be having an “independent” review of Minister Gago’s decision.

How independent can that review be if it is conducted by another Minister in the Labor Government, Minister John Hill, you might ask.

While the St Clair Reserve Ratepayers Association Committee (St Clair RRA Committee) welcomes the Governments decision to review the decision, we cannot but wonder what motivated the government to move so quickly.

Could it be that they knew they were going to get court orders against them and they wanted to avoid the embarrassment?

Could it be that they wanted to avoid being questioned about it in Parliament?

Or could it be just a delaying exercise to drag this on till after the next election when they will simply “plough ahead” despite any community protest?

We can but hope that Minister Hill, once he looks at the facts will feel compelled to direct the Council to engage in a much more widespread consultation process.

You should e-mail him immediately, demanding that he calls for a ratepayer’s poll to properly judge the feelings of the community.

John Hill can be contacted at:-

kaurna@parliament.sa.gov.au

Tel: 08 8326 6055
Fax: 08 8326 4389

With this decision, now more than ever, we need to be there at Parliament House this Thursday to demand that they take note of the community opposition to this proposal.

Come along on Thursday and bring at least 5 of your friends to show this Government that we, the people have had enough of being ignored in preference for the interests of the DEVELOPERS.  Who knows what else they have promised them in parks and open space near you?

The colour theme is GREEN while we still have a little green space left. Bring your banners, and your loudest voices and let them hear your concern.

Catch the train in and march from the station to Parliament House.

We have several speakers including we understand Isobel Redmond, leader of the opposition who can be contacted on:-

We suggest that you contact the Leader of the Opposition and recommend that she gives a clear commitment not to touch our park.

Please click on this link to See This Article on the Independent Weekly Website.

Some of the 600+ protesters who Charles Sturt Council wouldn't let in to hear their unjust decision about the St Clair Land Grab.

Please click on the following link to see Channel 7′s Today Tonight story on the St Clair Land Swap:

Today Tonight Covering the St Clair Reserve Land Swap issue on YouTube

There are currently 1,143 fans on FaceBook of the Save St Clair Reserve issue & growing Daily.

Save St Clair Update

What a busy week we are having on the Save St Clair front.

Today is the day that the Charles Sturt Council will vote for the second time on the motion to swap our community parkland of St Clair for development. In exchange we will receive the previously owned industrial site of Actil with its associated problems of soil contamination.

This second vote follows after Woodville Ward Councillor Robert Grant rescinded the motion at the last council meeting on Nov 9^th.

Councillors who voted against the proposed swap were Robert Grant and Brian Massey both representing Woodville Ward and Mick Harley of Beverley and Stuart Ghent of Semaphore Park.

The remaining 12 councillors all voted to go ahead with the land swap – in the words of the residents who were there to see the vote; shame!

We encourage you to join us in a rally together to make our voice heard against this proposed swap. Council decided NOT to survey all its residents, or, to have a public meeting to discuss this matter. Come along and show council we do care about our community open land. Our councillors have a duty to act on their ratepayers behalf as custodians of this land.

Bring your family and friends!

The Save St Clair Rally

Where: Carpark opposite Charles Sturt Council chambers on Woodville Road

Time: 6.30pm- arrive a little earlier if you are able

7.00pm -Charles Sturt council meeting.

Rally outside after to hear speakers and show your support – we promise that you won’t be disappointed by the show!

Remember that together we can make a difference.

Web and facebook sites

A lot is happening on our www.charlessturtratepayers.org website, our Ratepayers & residents discussion forum and Save St Clair facebook page.

Be sure to look at them and make a comment if you haven’t already.

It’s also a great way to keep informed with latest developments!

Government response

You may have noticed a sudden urgency on the Government’s part to put glossy promotional fliers in our letterboxes and adverts in the paper to inform us of the benefits of the TOD development. They have certainly been caught “on the back foot” and are trying to discredit any opposition to their development. It seems both government and council believed this development would proceed without opposition.

Many concerns have been presented regarding the land swap. Plans for Woodville Road include high-density apartments and offices that will go on the current shady park with a new road exiting onto Woodville Road quite close to the railway line (further increasing traffic problems). It is interesting to see that in the glossy brochures they are still maintaining the “fact” that we do not lose any open space, when in fact we lose about 2 hectares in the swap due to the inclusion of roads as open space, together with the elimination of a large part of the mandatory 12.5% of open space on the Actil site; these details have been provided to the SA Ombudsman.

The government is emphasising the TOD benefit and green corridor. Need we point out that much of the area between Woodville, Torrens and Cheltenham Roads and the railway line is currently open space and the intended development plan will increase the local population resulting in the open space per head of population being further reduced. Taking away St Clair significantly reduces the green corridor available between Cheltenham and Woodville Roads; one only has to take a drive along Woodville Rd to see this. The government and the Council have a fantastic opportunity here to do something wonderful with this area for future generations and they are squandering it for the benefit of developers, who end up with the “crown jewels” of Woodville – St Clair Park in exchange for a contaminated dust bowl with no trees. Great deal for them!

No one seems prepared to answer the question; Why the land swap is essential for the TOD to go ahead? We have no problems with TODs or improvements to our public transport system, but why on earth would you take a park when you have industrial land available immediately adjacent along the railway line? Did you know that a representative of TriMet in Portland, Oregon (where the TOD concept came from) has confirmed that none of their TODs were located on parks. Clearly it is only our government that are short-sighted enough to think that this is a good idea.

Why not relocate one of the Woodville station platforms further west, or put a new station in? Even easier, while you are busy blowing your trumpets about the new light rail; why not build a new tram stop at the Actil site? (And don’t bother telling us this is too expensive – we are not that naive!)

As a committee representing concerned ratepayers we believe a truly democratic decision can only be made by a ratepayer’s poll.

Letters and Petitions

We ask everyone to write a letter to Mr Rann this week.

We are particularly keen to write many letters to our politicians and encourage you to do this. Check the website today and download the proforma for sending a letter to Mr Rann then pop it in the post. Every letter should be answered. The more letters written will help to keep our politicians on their toes. Make your voice heard.

Letter writing is more effective than petitioning and at this stage we encourage you to do this.

Ombudsman Inquiry and Questions over Land Value

Hon.David Winderlich MLC has moved for an Ombudsman’s inquiry into the influence of the ALP over Charles Sturt Council’s decision to swap St Clair. The vote will be 3^rd Dec .

David asks to be sent any information regarding conflicts of interest to him at winderlich@gmail.com and if the information is credible he will read it out in parliament.

Questions have also been asked in Parliament over the relative land values of the two sites and the government have stated that the value of St Clair is $17M and so is the Actil site! Really?!! We understand that the value of the Actil site is closer to $10M and it doesn’t take much to calculate what St Clair is really worth as prime residential real estate in Woodville! Should we say $40M??

If it is developed for high rise apartments, probably more!

Donations and Membership

We thank everyone for their support. We are currently establishing a group membership base.

Please fill in a form. They will be available at the rally and to down load on line from our web site.

We ask also for a $10 joining fee to help subsidize our ongoing costs including photocopying and banner making not to mention legal fees!

We will have donation boxes at the rally.

Please help us financially if you are able.

Our apologies to anyone who received multiple copies of our update last week.

We really are trying our best to pull everything together in a short space of time and naturally we are encountering teething problems. Please be understanding and aware that we value any offers to help in any way.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the rally tonight

The Charles Sturt Ratepayers Committee