Local MPs and Mayors present our petition. Photo courtesy of greenway.org.au

On Wednesday 15^th February 2012 Friends of the GreenWay joined local Mayors and MPs representing the whole of the GreenWay catchment to present our petition to Save The GreenWay to the NSW Parliament. Watch the event video here.

Supporters of the GreenWay came from all across Sydney, representing many communities and voluntary groups – another demonstration of the way the GreenWay is already connecting people across Sydney.

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition, and a special thanks to those volunteers who went to dozens of local events over the past months collecting signatures.  The GreenWay is a true grassroots project!

Along with the many other supporters of the GreenWay were:

• Carmel Tebbutt, MP for Marrickville
• Jamie Parker, MP for Balmain
• Linda Burney, MP for Canterbury
• Charles Casuscelli, MP for Strathfield
• Rochelle Porteous, Mayor of Leichhardt
• Lyall Kennedy, Mayor of Ashfield
• Morris Hanna, Mayor of Marrickville
• Brian Robson, Mayor of Canterbury

Our local MPs will now present the petition to Transport Minister Gladys  Berejiklian, and the petition will be debated by Parliament on 31 May 2012.

The Inner City Weekender is reporting that the Transport for NSW is going to “consider alternative options for the design of the GreenWay”.

Friends of the GreenWay have re-stated that the GreenWay must include a safe off-road pathway, and we continue to campaign for the re-instatement of funding.

We are close to getting the 10,000 signatures on our petition which will trigger a debate in parliment. The count is about 8,200 but we need help now in the Leichhardt area.

We need people to help on two stalls before Christmas:

Orange Grove Markets on 17th of December from 9.00 to 12.00. Even if people could come for an hour it would be a great help.

Secondly there is the Christmas Carols event on the 18th December from 6.00 to 9.00 at Pioneer Park, Leichhardt (If wet at the Italian Culture Centre in the Forum). We need people to man a small stall and to collect signatures from the crowd. The mayor, Rochelle Porteous will mention the GreenWay in her speech.

Contact Jennifer at jennifer@friendsofthegreenway.org.au with the event and time you can help out.

The Inner City Weekender has run a front page story on the on-going mystery about the cost estimates for building the GreenWay.

Friends of the GreenWay have asked for the costings and the light rail company’s advice to be made public – something we believe the government should support because of its election platform to promote transparency.

The Friends of the GreenWay have called for greater NSW Government transparency after it was revealed the GreenWay project was scrapped following secret light rail company advice.

NSW Parliament

During the NSW Upper House budget estimates session on 25th October, Cate Faehrmann MP asked about the source of cost estimates quoted by the Minister for Transport when funding for the GreenWay was scrapped.

Department of Transport Deputy Director-General Chris Lock replied:

“The light rail is a private-sector project… that contract, which has been in place for many years now, gives the private sector the right to continue with any further light rail extensions.”

“The department went to the private sector — Metro Transit Sydney — and asked for a price for developing the whole of what is now called the inner west extension.”

Friends of the GreenWay spokesperson Jud Agius said the revelation raised many questions about government decisions made about the GreenWay.

“The entire process would be assisted by the costings and the light rail company’s advice being made public – the government should support this because of its election platform to promote transparency,” Jud said.

“Furthemore, the light rail company and government should make it clear whether they support the GreenWay and whether they see it as competition to, or complementary to, its operation.”

“If the government can’t release the advice because it comes from a private company, then why is it relying on this advice to make public policy decisions?”

Read the media release. The transcript of the estimates committe hearing is available here (starting on page eight).

Tuesday’s Inner West Courier includes a report by Hanna Parkes on the meeting between Friends of the GreenWay, inner-west mayors and MPs Jamie Parker and Gladys Berejiklian.

Bicycle NSW is also plugging our rally!