Dear Members – a quick update on progress with our campaign to get
independence restored to the Charles Sturt Council; in addition to
myself running for Mayor, I am pleased to report that we have some
excellent candidates running for Council in the local government
elections. They include:

Rina Russo and Max Galanti – Hindmarsh
Jay Antoney and Peter Udycz – Woodville West
Robert Grant and Leni Brown – Woodville
Joe Ienco – Findon
Bob Randall and Grantley Anderson – Henley
Luciano Agostino – Grange

In the last two wards, Semaphore Park and Beverley it is suggested
that we support the existing Crs Ghent and Harley, who both
demonstrated their independence by voting against the land swap. We
will also contact the other candidates in those wards and keep you
posted on the outcome.

Please get behind these people who have put up their hands and are
volunteering their time to represent you; please help us by spreading
the word to your friends and neighbours and encourage people to vote
for these independent candidates. It is a postal vote and papers will
be distributed between 25-29th Oct and are due back before the 12th
Nov.

If you can help with distributing flyers in your neighbourhood
please let us know; we really need your help in the leadup to the vote
and it could make the difference on whether we save our park or not.
Thanks again to all of our walkers and cake stall volunteers who have
really helped to raise community awareness and gathered a lot of
support for the campaign – keep up the great work everyone! Next cake
stall is on 9th October so please get your donations to Leni and Marie
and don’t miss out on buying something yummy!

STOP PRESS: Don’t Miss the St Clair Variety Show at the Gov!!
Please see details below on an event that is being hosted by the
Governor Hindmarsh for us to help support our campaign to get
independent representation back on Council and save St Clair. Please
join us for what promises to be an excellent show from some talented
local musicians and other entertainers. Look forward to seeing you
there!!

Regards Kirsten Alexander
SCRRA Chair and Candidate for Mayor, Charles Sturt

Hi Everyone – below is a copy of an invitation to attend a rally at St Clair Oval on this Saturday 7th August. We have extended this invitation to all of the other groups that we are aware of that share our concern over the loss of open space amid the rampant development focus of the current government. Please do your best to come along to St Clair Oval on Saturday and bring banners, signs etc telling the government how you feel about being ignored.

We are also holding an information session for prospective Council candidates immediately following the next Council meeting on 9th August. The Council meeting is at 7pm and the information session will be at 8pm at St Margarets Church Hall on the corner of Port Rd and Woodville Rd. This will be a SCRRA Committee meeting rather than a general members meeting (just to try to keep numbers workable), unless you are planning to run as a candidate for Council please do not attend this meeting; however we would love to see you at the next SCRRA Members meeting to be held after the Council meeting on 23rd August at 8pm.

We would also like some feedback from you on an alternative plan for St Clair incorporating much more open space than those proposed by Council and the LMC. We will have copies at the rally for you to look at and comment on. A representative from David Ridgeway MLC will be there, as will Stateline and hopefully Today Tonight and ABC News will be able to make it too.

Details of rally are: 12pm at St Clair Oval, Woodville Rd on Sat 7th August

An invitation from St Clair to a Rally to Save Our Open Space – Stand Up Against Development Happy Government before the Bulldozers Come to Where You Live!!

Developers are funding the government and the government is raping and pillaging our precious open space and rural land to pay them back the favour!!

The government clearly did not learn anything at the last election and has continued on its merry way at St Clair, Cheltenham, Glenside, Mt Barker, Gawler, Mt Pleasant, McLaren Vale and on and on and on!!! They have not listened and do not care!!!

While the Federal election is in full swing, this is your opportunity to show that you do care about open space and that you vote!! Come along with your group’s signs and banners and join us at St Clair in a show of solidarity and concern.

Sausage sizzle provided, and lots of community spirit!! See you there!

Regards Kirsten Alexander, SCCRA Chair

I attended the above workshop arranged by Council at the West Torrens Football Clubrooms on Wednesday 21st April 2010.  There were around 80 people in attendance, with each of the 9 tables of around 8 people having 2 Council staff, plus a number of other Council staff & members, including the Mayor Harold Anderson and the CEO.  The workshop was led by a Gilbert Rochecouste, employed by the to guide us in, I believe, accepting Council’s unmovable point of view.

The workshop commenced with  Mr Rochecouste providing a summary of what was proposed.  His view was that the precinct would be revitalised (with an additional 2,000 new residents & 4 new roads into Woodville Road – which he omitted to mention), by new shops, restaurants, cafes and markets as well as “Indian Traders” (what the?), & multi-story high density housing.  Mr Rochecouste claimed that such developments worked internationally and were warranted in the St Clair development to draw people to the Woodville Road precinct, with a particular target being those on the south side of Port Road (e.g. the QEH district) who currently had difficulty utilising the area.

The workshop progressed with a number of by-table discussions, wherein thoughts were gathered on participants’ vision for the area, and then compiled into lists by council staff.

Some of the key issues raised were:

• The development would totally change the heritage character of the Woodville area, something that was not favored.
• The increase in traffic into Woodville Road from new roads in the development, noting that all who lived there would not necessarily utilise the train station for transport to and from work, given that the rail network access to major employment centres other than the CBD was limited.  Each participant was asked to prepare post-it notes with the 3 major opportunities and  3 major negatives.  By a significant majority, traffic increase was the major concern, with the post-it notes covering over 40% of the window space allocated to stick them.  In summarising the 11 major issues identified however, Council staff produced a point sheet which just simply omitted to include that major issue, that is until I approached staff to rectify that anomaly.  If council does not even take record or notice of the most prominent of concerns, what hope do we have in being listened to and our concerns and opinions being taken notice of and acted upon by this Council?
• The lack of parking facilities.  One Council staff-member suggested the potential for underground parking, however that was quickly ridiculed by those at my table based upon the high ground-water table, which would ensure flooding of any underground parking development with some certainty.  Interestingly, I noted a conversation between one council staffer and a participant wherein the participant suggested Woodville would soon be beachfront.  The council staffer suggested his view that existing coastal suburbs were indeed at risk. If this is the case, what are Council doing about it?
• The security risks to children playing on St Clair Reserve (or what’s left of it), noting that the new high story TOD will overlook  playing and playground areas and form a barrier that Woodville High students must pass through on the way to the train station.  The sort of people that will live in this type of development must be considered in my view. As the high density housing will not have yards for pets or children, the likelihood of a typical family-oriented development is nil.  We must question just what type of people Council are targeting to attract to this area, given they most certainly won’t be families.
• Alarmingly, there was a suggestion by one group that a major shopping centre should be incorporated in the development (where will the space for that come from and how could it compete with West Lakes and Arndale?) and that Woodvile Road should be closed for markets. There was reasonable support for a market atmosphere generally, with stalls and the like.  It was also noted there were no hotels or drinking places in the area, and some support was heard for such facilities.
• Our group strongly supported a full and extensive and fully transparent engineering, roads and planning study, noting the high risk of flood in the area, particularly given that Cheltenham Racecourse, which should be a wetland in its entirety.
• Support was voiced for a significant “buffer zone” between the TOD and Woodville Road, primarily for the safety of children walking from school to the train station.  A council staffer suggested a corridor with a width of a mere 2 metres, grossly inadequate.
• Strong support was voiced for a low density development, which by council’s definition is still comprised of buildings up to 3 stories in height, which is by no means low density. Also that buildings maintain the heritage character of the Woodville area, rather than a Mawson Lakes type development or the dog boxes that no-one wants at the Quays in Port Adelaide.
• There was a call for the plaques council had removed from St Clair Reserve being returned and that significant trees be retained, noting that many had already apparently been poisoned.
• Strong support was maintained for retention of the St Clair Reserve as is, given that Charles Sturt had one of the lowest ratios of open space of any Council in Australia.

During the proceedings, a council staffer started filming participants, until I voiced my objection, as did the participant sitting next to me.  I requested that the video be deleted, however have no assurance this occurred.  For council to video us without authority is a serious breach of privacy in my view.  Our Mayor and CEO did not participate in discussions, but stood or sat at the rear of the room along with what I can only call were a number of “heavies”.  Other council staff and Mr Rochecouste milled around tables listening in on discussions and offering less than helpful opinions.

In summary, this was yet another attempt by a council that will not listen to the opinions of residents and ratepayers, to whitewash the real issues and to justify the corruption of the heritage of Woodville in favor of new residents, who won’t be families, who have never paid a cent in rates.

The heritage character of the suburb is in serious risk, as is the safety of children near such a development, and the resultant effect on traffic in Woodville Road will simply be horrendous.  Its all about a pack-em and stack-em development on a park that was given to the people, but stolen by the council. They are merely engineering a future slum in my opinion.

Why can’t council address the area the other side of Torrens Road and the housing opposite Arndale Shopping Centre which is ripe for development and refurbishment? The area is also in dire need of much more green space, something the City of Charles Sturt is determined to take from us all. Let council develop a Village there, instead of stealing our pristine park (which was never theirs to take) while giving us much less valuable contaminated land in return.

This proposal is all about stealing from existing ratepayers and residents and making money to their detriment.

Mark Walker

Note: Council will hold 3 more events as part of this review process:

1. Monday 17th May 2010 7.00 to 9.00pm at the Civic Centre
2. Wednesday 19th May 2010 7.00 to 9.00pm at the above venue
3. Saturday 22nd May 2010 2.00 to 5.00pm at Council (Open Day)

Phone 1300 116 747 to register attendance – all are encouraged to come along and voice their opinion and to fight for our heritage and open space.

Just a reminder everyone the feedback to the council needs to be done by Friday the 16th of April 2010 at 5pm. Things that you could write about are the increase of traffic on Woodville Rd if there was to be a road coming out onto there, the increased risk of flooding, the unfair exchange of land as it isn’t one for one (roads and already allocated space does not equal 4.7 hectares) the disadvantage to existing residents by moving the new park onto the Cheltenham racecourse making it really a backyard for the new residents and the TOD.
Also reading in last weeks messenger the 170 people that went through the community day want a pooch park and an outdoor adult gym! well those things also eat into the open space. Why can’t we have the open space that already exists in St Clair and add those things onto the Cheltenham site?

The feedback form can be downloaded from the following link, filled out electronically and emailed to council@charlessturt.sa.gov.au – Note: We do not recommend using the “email” link at the bottom of the form as it is set to access multiple links and may pose a computer security risk.
Download Link: http://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Community_Open_Day_-_Feedback_Sheet.pdf
Kelly Thomas

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.

Please click on the link below to download a “How To Vote Card” for Max Gallanti, who is standing against Michael Atkinson in Croyden.

Remember, Max stands for saving St Clair, while Michael Atkinson is in favor of building high density housing on our pristine park and giving us contaminated land without grass or trees in its place.

HOW TO VOTE CARD FOR MAX GALLANTI IN THE SEAT OF CROYDON

The State Election Flyer below is also provided in PDF format that will allow you to print it and give it to your friends and neighbors. David Winderlich & Kirsten Alexander have played a pivotal role in fighting against the injustice of the St Clair Reserve land swap. Their Top 10 Policies are a creditable demonstration of their commitment to fight for the justice of Community Democracy and other issues that cannot be disputed as critical for the viable future of South Australia.

We urge all who are committed to fighting the injustice of the St Clair Land swap to vote for David & Kirsten in this week’s State Election (Upper House).

Vote for Community Justice!

Vote for Community Democracy!

DOWNLOAD HOW TO VOTE PDF

A Redmond Liberal Government will retain St Clair reserve as open space – giving the local community what it wants.

Isobel Redmond - Leader of the Opposition

In contrast to the Rann Government the Liberal Opposition has listened and will work with the community to ensure the reserve remains an important neighbourhood asset in the western suburbs.

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond said the land swap at St Clair was just one of the controversial issues the Rann Government has failed to consult with the local community on.

“After eight years the Rann Government is arrogant and has stopped listening to what people want,” Ms Redmond said.

“The list of projects on which the Rann Government has failed to consult local communities continues to grow – they include:

• Its plan to demolish the Royal Adelaide Hospital
• Its plan to sell off 42 percent of Glenside for a film hub and a housing and shopping development
• Its tram extension to the Entertainment Centre

“A government’s role is to listen to the community – not force something on them whether people want it or not.

“The people of Adelaide’s western suburbs can be assured that a Redmond Liberal Government will consult with the community and listen.

“And this means the St Clair reserve will remain open space under a Redmond Liberal Government.”

We are unable to apologise in regard to a comment made against Michael Atkinson by an individual on the Save St Clair Facebook site.  This site is not, and has never been, associated or affiliated in any way with the above-mentioned Facebook site. The authors and domain owner have absolutely no control or influence over posts made on that site, which merely addresses the same issue as this site – that of the stealing of the St Clair community land from residents and ratepayers to their detriment, by the City of Charles Sturt.

An apology has been requested by Mr Atkinson and is refused, as such may incorrectly indicate some liability on the part of this site – and we have absolutely no liability in the matter. The previous apology posted on this site was done so in error and is withdrawn.

Mark Walker
Administrator

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