Great Day at Mascot Library

If you weren’t at the special Mascot Library open day last Saturday, October 23 then you really missed out on a great community celebration – and some special treats.  To mark the reopening of the library after our extensive renovations – and an expansion – library staff hosted a day for just about everyone in the community.  It was a great way to reintroduce the library in Hatfield Street, Mascot and the George Hanna Memorial Museum.  By Monday everyone was still talking about the open day and the revamped library and museum.

Talking of the museum, the exhibition on Daceyville’s rich past is building in popularity and well worth a visit.  As Australia’s first public housing scheme, Daceyville has a unique history and through the exhibition that history unfolds. What was a dust bowl, sand everywhere, was Sydney’s first planned urban area with generation after generation of proud residents.  It is well worth a look when you check out our new community asset – the Mascot Library.

Here are some of the pictures of the great day. 

Helping Learner Drivers

It’s the last one for the year – and it’s an opportunity to help our young learner drivers by helping their parents and supervisors.

Council works with the RTA is organising and running workshops not only to help learner drivers become better drivers but also as a way to reduce serious accidents.  Statistics show that drivers aged between 17 and 20 are three times more likely to be involved in serious accidents.  Anything we can do to reduce that is worthwhile.

When we had the last workshop, just under 40 parents of aspiring young drivers came along and all felt it was a positive step. The workshop focuses on helping Parents and Supervisors of learner drivers, and the Graduated Licensing Scheme, which requires learner drivers to have 120 hours of supervised driving practice. Places are limited and the free workshop will be held on Thursday November 18 from 5.45 - 7.45pm.  For further inquiries and registration please contact Patrick or Yasemin on 9366-3889.

Locals have no taste for McDonald's

Southern Courier 19 October 2010 by Leesa Smith.

"Police and residents fear crime will spike again in Eastlakes if the development of a new 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant is given the green light.

A development application for the fast food venue at 279 Gardeners Rd is proposing to be built next to a previous McDonald’s store which had 24-hour-trading with a drive-through service.

Mascot crime manager Mike Birley said crime had dropped 15 per cent in Eastlakes since the restaurant on Racecourse Pde closed in August, 2007.

Detective Inspector Birley said the crimes included assaults, robberies, malicious damages, and break and enters, but did not include the significant anti-social behaviour caused from the youths using the venue as a meeting point.

He said the problems spilled out onto the park across the road and the South Point shopping centre.

“I would anticipate if another one is built we would potentially see a similar increase in crime in and around the area of McDonald’s,” he said.

“It was used by the youths for drinking and drug use but now that’s reduced because there is nothing to actually bring them to the area. But if they’ve got a food outlet they can readily access then they will utilise the park as well.”

Eastlakes resident Davina Mayfield has a petition of 200 signatures from locals who have not been informed about the application and who have the same concerns as the police.

She said Botany Bay Council originally only gave residents seven days to submit objections, but she asked for an extension, which was granted until October 29.

“Residents said they have really tried to clean up the area and the closure of McDonald’s did make a massive difference,” she said. “It’s just going to encourage kids to hang out there at all hours and just cause problems.”

A council spokesman said the process for the development was still at a very early stage and council was waiting on further information from the applicants."

http://southern-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/locals-have-no-taste-for-mcdonalds/

Mascot Library and Museum Open Day Tomorrow

Just a reminder that the newly refurbished Mascot Library and Museum will host an Open Day tomorrow Saturday October 23 to showcase its new look.

There will be a few some freebies as well as the added attraction of a sausage sizzle and animal farm.  Remember the Daceyville exhibition is on display at the museum, which is fascinating. The Library will be open from 10am to 2pm. Look forward to seeing you there.  The Daceville exhibition is fascinating.

Congratulations to John and Phyllis Reeves on their 60th Wedding Anniversary

On October 28, John and Phyllis Reeves of Vernon Avenue, Eastlakes will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. On behalf of all the people of our City I want to extend my congratulations to John and Phyliss on reaching this great milestone of life.

Rhyme Time Mascot Library

A popular activity with our local babies and toddlers.  Rhyme Time at Mascot Library is Wednesday 10.30am to 11.15am.

Port Botany ­ Facts or Fiction

For the last couple of editions, the Southern Courier has carried articles revolving around expansion of Port Botany, as well as a story on the official opening of the some community facilities that were part of the approval of terminal three.
 
As part of the first article, Sydney Ports Corporation advised that it could not give a forecast of expected trade and throughput for the next 30 years, adding that throughput is capped at 3.2 million teu’s, or twenty foot equivalent – containers in our understanding.
 
As one who has followed port development very closely, this rang untrue to me.  By checking submissions received by Infrastructure Australia as part of its development of a National Ports Policy, my inclinations proved to be correct.
 
The Australian Government, through Infrastructure Australia, is developing a National Ports Policy and an associated National Freight Policy. Part of that strategy development is to issue discussion papers and then call for submissions.  That, Infrastructure Australia did.
 
It was strange to me that while the Port of Melbourne, Port Kembla, Geraldton in Western Australia, the Maritime Union of Australia, the National Farmer’s Federation and the NSW Business Chamber, among others, made submissions Sydney Ports Corporation did not.  Seeing as it is the second largest container port in Australia, the absence from making a formal submission seemed strange indeed.
 
However, the NSW Department of Transport did and buried in that submission is an admission that would surprise no one.
 
The Department refuted the IA forecast and, quoting what it described as the trade simulation that NSW agency, Sydney Ports Corporation, is developing has an average growth rate of just under 6%, which puts container trade in 2029/30 at 5.8 million.
 
When queried about this inconsistency by the Southern Courier, Sydney Ports Corporation says this week that yes it gave the figures to the Department of Transport but that the figures were only preliminary.
 
In reality, the 5.8 million figure has been privately acknowledged by Sydney Ports Corporation for some time.  The corporation tends to dismiss the formal ministerial approval of Terminal 3 and the cap of 3.2 million teu’s. The view held by the corporation is that, when necessary, it will gain government approval for the higher throughput.
 
What this means to the residents of our City, and those of our neighbours, is chaos, congestion, environmental disasters, noise and a diminution of our standard of living.
 
Foreshore Road, Bunnerong Road, sections of Botany Road, the M5East and M5West, Southern Cross Drive, the Eastern Distributor and all the streets and roads in between will feel the impacts.
 
Even with the mythical 40 per cent of movement by rail, we would still see 3,500,000 containers go via road.  If rail handled 30 per cent (and that is about the top of the real estimates), then over four million containers would be on our roads. Either 30 per cent or 40 per cent would still mean more containers on the road than would go through the port at the capped level of 3.2 million.
 
I realise some people think I harp on this too often, but unless we keep the debate going we won’t get government action to enforce a transport mode shift from road to rail.  Unless we get that mode shift, what we’re looking at is almost beyond contemplation.
 
We won’t be able to use any of the roads out of our city – they will be blocked constantly and for the sake of the future for our residents, this debate must be continued.