A recent trip to the Australian Museum in Sydney revealed to me an unexpected Hawkesbury connection.
The famous exhibit of a skeletal horse and his rider is known to generations of museum visitors, usually as "The Bone Ranger".
The horse is "Sir Hercules", a champion stud bred in 1843 at "Clifton", which was on Percival Street between Richmond and Windsor, adjacent to the current air-base. He's been on exhibition since 1873.
Sir Hercules sired a Melbourne Cup winner ('The Barb', 1866). The rider isn't the original rider, but I'd love to know what their story is! ... See MoreSee Less
1 day ago
Concern from HRCC over funding cut from state government ... See MoreSee Less
3 days ago
HAWKESBURY LIBERAL COUNCILLORS SEND STRONG MESSAGE AGAINST INAPPROPRIATE SUBDIVISION IN KURRAJONG AND KURMOND
At the Hawkesbury City Council meeting this week, your Liberal Councillors helped to carry a motion to end the ‘Kurrajong-Kurmond investigation area’ process.
We believed the proposed rezoning and adoption of the 'Structure Plan' would have encouraged the lodgement of further subdivision proposals. We felt it would have sent a message to landowners or developers that we were encouraging subdivision west of the river.
The motion we passed abandons either rezoning or the Structure Plan, adding that Council 'Not encourage the lodgement of additional individual Planning Proposals within the Kurmond- Kurrajong Investigation Area for rural residential development.'
The motion ensures already-lodged planning proposals will be granted due-process, and continue to be assessed against relevant criteria.
A 2017 survey of Kurrajong and Kurmond residents showed that only 32% of residents supported developing the whole investigation area.
Although it is true that anyone can submit an unsolicited proposal at any time to subdivide their property, they will still be assessed against increasingly strict criteria of both our LEP and the Greater Sydney Commission's residential strategy.
Two Councillors recused themselves because they or their families, live or own property in the subject area, including Liberal Sarah Richards.
Extraordinarily, the Greens and Independent Councillors voted not only to adopt the structure plan, but to have Council prepare a planning proposal to rezone the land identified in the plan.
We encourage those with an interest in the debate to listen to the Council webcast.
soundcloud.com/user-423594224/item-30-cp-update-on-kurmond ... See MoreSee Less
3 days ago
So after two days of Facebook gaol, this page, and the Hawkesbury Liberal Team, and the Hawkesbury District Independent Magazine page are back up.
But not the worthy Hawkesbury Post, or The Hawkesbury Gazette, or the Hawkesbury Visitor Information Centre.
What utter stupidity. Facebook can't even be consistent about what constitutes 'news'. Business students will one day write essays about how a $745B multinational could trash their branding in one stroke by citing this episode.
Here's what it boils down to. Many people choose to aggregate their news through Facebook – for some it's the main way they keep informed. Spain and Germany enacted similar copyright reforms in 2014 - seeking to charge aggregators for the value news sites conferred them. In that case Google removed news from their site, and it resulted in an overall 20% reduction in news consumption.
Now, ask yourself, with social platforms only making belated and cosmetic efforts to remove inflammatory and misleading content, if there's suddenly no professional journalist or fact checking in people's feeds, then what's left?
That's right. Facebook becomes even more of a sewer. Less fact, and more garbage.
I'm not convinced that the Federal Government's proposed Media Bargaining Code is the right solution, but I am convinced that they have picked the right fight.
I've provided some remarks to the Hawkesbury Post, which, if you're interested, you can still post to if you use a 'URL shortener' like Bitly.
bit.ly/3k7qfTH
My expanded remarks are also here:
councillorzamprogno.info/2021/02/20/facebook-and-the-survival-of-rational-democracy/ ... See MoreSee Less
1 week ago
Recently I visited Bilpin, and dropped in to Bilpin Cider Co.
Owner Sean Prendergast pointed out the lamentable state of the intersection off Bells Line of Road and into Kurts Road, on which corner his business sits. Like many businesses along BLOR, Sean relies on passing trade – people who see his sign and choose to spontaneously drop in. Drivers travelling west along BLOR and decelerating to turn left into Kurts Road faced a wicked edge to the asphalt and loose gravel. Accidents and near-accidents have occurred.
No one had taken responsibility because it sat at the interface of a Council road and a State Road.
I am pleased that due to representations I have made, Council staff have advised the following:
"Council staff have inspected the road condition at this intersection and made arrangements for asphalt works to be carried out. It is anticipated that this will be completed within the next week.
In regards to responsibility between Council and Transport for NSW (TfNSW) for local/state road interfaces, whilst generally each party is responsible for the carriageway of their respective roads, in cases such as this we will generally discuss the underlying cause and impacts to resolve responsibility and undertake works. Maintenance beyond the table drain on State roads is generally Council responsibility, and where no table drains exists TfNSW is responsible for an area 4m from the edge line."
Bilpin Group ... See MoreSee Less
2 weeks ago
Dick move, Facebook.
You’ll allow every kind of pseudoscience, cant and conspiracy, but you’ll actively shut out professional journalism.
Exactly the opposite of what you should do.
Disgusted, disappointed and angry. ... See MoreSee Less
2 weeks ago
