Liverpool Community Independents Team

I would like to thank my Family, members and friends of the Liverpool Community Independents Team (LCIT) and everyone that voted for me to be re-elected as a Councillor for another term. Councillor Peter Harle JP.

A debate is currently raging in social media due to Liverpool City Councils' implementation of a "no-right turn" into Lismore Street at Hoxton Park.

As a Councillor for 16 + years, Lismore Street in Hoxton Park has been an issue since the estate was built. IMHO, it could have been better designed so “rat-runs” are not created or viable.

Originally 1st Avenue was intended to connect to 19th Avenue with Lismore a cull-de-sac. That was later changed to the current problematic design.

During 2024, the Traffic Committee passed a proposal for Council to implement a trial one-way traffic flow from 1st Avenue to 19th Avenue to be implemented towards the end of 2024.

If Lismore St cannot be closed, I favour the current "no right turn", busses exceptions rule, anything else is too difficult to police.
Residents of Lismore and surrounding streets may find that a longer route via a "left turn access" is likely far better than the enormous volume of more than 42,000 vehicles per week currently using it as a "rat-run".

IMHO, the proposed “residents’ and busses exception” will be too difficult to enforce and likely abused and modified to a point where it will have little practical effect in limiting the volume of through traffic, currently at around 42,000 vehicles per week but designed for a maximum of 14,000.

Unfortunately, closing Lismore Street will mean no bus route through the estate, hence unlikely to occur unless alternate routes are implemented.

Council hosts a Traffic Committee authorised by Transport for NSW (TfNSW), It consists of one Council Member, several adjoining State Member representatives, two Officers from the Highway Patrol division, two Bus Company representatives and a traffic Engineer, hence Council does not have overall control of the committee and its directives. Council has only one vote in any decisions made, the Mayor and Councillors do not have any overriding power, they can only make suggestions.

As a Councillor, I have attended almost every meeting for the past 14 years and try to influence the members of the Committee whenever possible, sadly this issue has been debated numerous times with little result until recently when the overall decision was the “No-right turn” option, which I supported.

In my humble opinion, the safety of residents of Lismore and surrounding streets is of paramount importance rather than any savings in travelling time that may occur at their expense.

Councillor Peter Harle JP
September 2024.

History of Liverpool City Council Budgets since 2012.
Mayor Ned Mannoun often claims he had to fix Council Budget Deficits!
The comparisons show his two terms, 2012-16 & 2021-24, were financially far worse than any term of Council since 2012.
 Mayor Mannoun consistently claims he inherited significant deficits during Labor/LCIT Council terms, and that his terms were financially better managed.
 Facts show otherwise, his two terms caused 6 significant deficits, compared to 2 for the Labor/LCIT terms despite his term selling substantial assets and despite Labor/LCIT terms dealing with Covid 19 and Asbestos remediation issues.
 Links to Annual Budget comparisons of Liverpool City Council from 2012 to 2024, they relate to the Net Cost of Services. (NCOS) It is a performance indicator of how well Council manages its finances. Comparison info here:
https://lcit.com.au/how-good-a-financial-manager-is-mayor-ned-mannoun/ 😢🥵

History of Liverpool City Council Budgets since 2012 | Liverpool Community Independents Team Liverpool City Councils’ Mayor Ned Mannoun often claims he had to fix Labor deficits! The comparisons below show his two terms, 2012-16 & 2021-24, were financially worse than any term of Council since 2012.

Watching the Court case on Friday, it’s apparent that Councils’ Barrister is taking considerable time to challenge the case for the Government.
Ms. Sharp, the Governments’ legal Barrister countered and raised 8 points starting at around 2:30 pm, but only had time for point 1 of 8 before court was adjourned at 4.00pm, hence the continuation to Monday at 10.00 am.
Based on the time taken so far, it's anticipated that the hearing is likely to continue well past Monday 12th of August.
That means candidates for the Council elections will need to ensure all nominations are lodged prior to Wednesday’s deadline if the election goes ahead.

Shame that the financial information on page 1 is misleading. Councils' finances are not in surplus at all. The fake "surplus" depends entirely on the sale of income producing Council assets at #3 Hoxton Park Road. The property is valued at $14m, without that sale, Council actually has a deficit of -$12m.
The asset has yet to be approved for sale, however if Mayor Mannouns' Team is re-elected no doubt this and 33 Moore St, valued at around $70m will be sold as stated in the Long Term Financial Plan. Both properties earn around $10m in leases per year. That loss will be met by substantially increasing Council rates. Be careful what you wish for!

🎉 Liverpool Life, your free community newsletter, is now out!

📢 Discover the latest updates from your Council and learn about the exciting major events on the horizon.

🌐 You can also access it online in Arabic, Assyrian, and Vietnamese languages.

🔗 Follow the link for more information: https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/council/Media/liverpool-life-newsletter

Interview on Local Community Radio Station 2GLF FM 89.3 the Pulse Program with BJ commenting on current Liverpool City Council operational matters leading to the current fiasco at Council. link here: Interview starts at the 30 min mark.

Pulse 2024 - July 25, 2024 - Pulse 2024 Pulse 2024 - July 25, 2024 [00:00:00] 9:00 am - Pulse 2024 [01:00:00] 10:00 am - Pulse 2024

https://southwestvoice.com.au/liverpool-council-court-fight/?fbclid=IwY2xjawERxNtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZvTRD-4DaXrfOEPYVffOpRxxhkRALVru3Mhas18Y7rghDEiix-kZ6luzQ_aem_CaInC57Rk_1gn-Nz0F04PQ

Liverpool Council presses ahead with court fight Hagarty says council move unprecedented

Podcast of Ray Hadley with Cllr Peter Harle regarding Council legal action against Minister Ron Hoenig. Chose podcast from July 23rd 2024.

The Ray Hadley Morning Show Podcast Catch up on Ray Podcasts:

My email to the Ray Hadley Show on 2GB which resulted in an interview the following morning July 23. The podcast is available on 2GBs website for July 22 to 26.

Good Morning Ray.
Liverpool City Council Mayor Ned Mannoun and his Team, via an extra ordinary meeting on Monday last, managed to pass a motion challenging the Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenigs’ intention to place Council into Administration while an investigation, based on an Interim Report alleging maladministration and corruption, is being investigated.
Despite the best efforts and arguments of two Independents, I am one of those, and a Labor Councillor, the Mayor and his Liberal Team, having the balance of power, intended that the elections go ahead despite current Councillors and the Mayor being mentioned on page 35 of a 50 page Interim Report. That report states that the Mayor and Councillors attempted to influence development applications and compliance issues with Senior Staff,
Info here: (link removed by the OLG)
I argued that while ever there are doubts of integrity surrounding the Mayor and Councillors, elections should NOT go ahead while investigations, estimated to last at least 18 months, are underway, anything less doesn't pass the Pub test.
It could mean that if any re-elected Councillor is proven to have been involved in corrupt conduct and dismissed, it could lead to a full election or bi-election costing around $2m, which is considerably more than cancelling the proposed elections in September.
The legal costs of challenging Minister Hoenigs' consideration to postpone the elections due in September are estimated to costs around $150k, considerably more if Council loses the injunction.
Council is also facing a possible multi million-dollar legal challenge in the Supreme Court for an unfair dismissal claim brought on by the recently terminated CEO John Ajaka.
Bear in mind that all of this is primarily due to the Mayor terminating another CEO that doesn't agree with him trying to be both Mayor and CEO.
Unfortunately, this is not just a monetary cost to Council and ratepayers but also a loss of many competent senior staff that have left Council simply because they cannot work with the Mayor and his demands.

Liverpool City Council approves a “Fake Surplus" Budget.

• It’s not a surplus unless $14m worth of income producing assets are sold which raises these questions.
• How will Council meet the new Civic Place repayments when its funding sources are all sold?
• Will Council need to increase rates, or apply a Special Rate Variation to source the annual $10m or more repayments needed?
• Several Public Forum speakers including well-known Accountants criticised Council for its intention to sell income producing assets, and I fully agree.
• As Accountants have stated, it is bad practice to sell major income producing funding sources, especially when they were the prime reason for obtaining the loans to build Civic Place and repay those loans.
• Leasing the previous Administration Centre building at 33 Moore Street provides the long-term income source to pay the bulk of the repayments needed for Civic Place for the next 20 years. That income is assured by leasing the building to current long-term tenants such as Universities.
• Leasing commercial space within Civic Place, currently around 80%, will also contribute to Councils income, overall, that will reduce the need to substantially increase rates.
• It doesn’t make sense to sell income producing assets needed to pay for newly created assets.
• Overall, Council will have those assets producing an income that will be used for the benefits of all ratepayers. It is a long-term benefit rather than a short-term gain and long-term loss.
• It is also doubtful that number 3 Hoxton Park Road can be sold due to its impact on the $42m Brickmakers Creek Project and the Woodward Park Master-plan. That land was specifically re-purchased to fit in with the Master-plan and the future recreational needs of Liverpool. Sadly, that Master-plan has not been mentioned in this term of Council, could it be that it doesn’t fit the Mayors’ long overdue 400 day plan and plans for Liverpool?
• Around $300k was spent in developing the Woodward Park Master-plan which is of significant importance to the future recreational needs of Liverpool. Those plans together with public exhibitions and feedback provided positive outcomes, where is that at? Is this another casualty of Mayor Mannouns' vision for Liverpool?
• That proposed sale also creates the problem of where will the State Emergency Services (SES) go? Council has a responsibility to support the SES.
• Council spent around $2m upgrading the centre. If sold, where will they go and at what cost? These are issues that were not considered or discussed at any of several Budget Briefing sessions.
• Neither was the impact of $2.5m worth of last-minute Budget additions by the Mayor. The impact of these "electioneering" inclusions, while needed, should have been discussed in Budget sessions amongst equally important priorities, sadly, they were not. Budget sessions were debated and difficult decisions made to reduce an initial deficit of around -$30m to an eventual level of around -$8m and now increased to more than $-10m, primarily as an electioneering Budget with a "Fake surplus” of around $2m, is not in the best interests of the community.
• It's another example of dictatorial decision making without the majority of Councillor input.
• In light of the above issues I could not support the Budget as presented and voted against it.
• The Budget was passed 6-3

Councillor Peter Harle JP
27th June 2024

First standalone, large-scale waste-to-energy plant set to open in Rockingham south of Perth.

This Australian-first facility will process hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rubbish, but some say there are better solutions While it has some pushback in favour of other waste reduction measures the facility, alongside another, is expected to process 700,000 tonnes of rubbish per year.

Interesting Post Liverpool Ratepayers might be interested in. It will result in a significant impact on your rates.

Liverpool Council and Terminating John Ajaka Please Review Councillor Peter Harle's Commentshttps://lcit.com.au/response-to-the-untimely-termination-of-liverpool-ceos-contract/Please consider signing th...

For a list of topics related to Liverpool City Council and its impact on our community, you might care to look at Councillor Peter Harle and his Posts affecting our community.😀

Cllr Harle’s Blog | Liverpool Community Independents Team Statement by Liverpool City Councillors Procedural fairness and due process are fundamental to any investigation. A divided council lost track of these fundamental principles in voting to terminate the employment of CEO John Ajaka at the Council meeting held on … Continue reading →

Statement by Five Liverpool City Councillors

Procedural fairness and due process are fundamental to any investigation.

A divided council lost track of these fundamental principles in voting to terminate the employment of CEO John Ajaka at the Council meeting held on the 29th May 2024.
The termination was voted on despite Liverpool City Council not yet being in possession of the full report into allegations of misconduct by Mr Ajaka, that was initiated by Council resolution at it’s April 2024 meeting.
It is understood that a final report into these allegations had not even been completed by the independent investigator engaged by Council.
As such, Mr Ajaka was not afforded the opportunity to respond to the findings of either an interim or final report prior to a decision being made, as should have occurred in line with the standards of procedural fairness.
As Councillors who voted against the termination, we are seriously concerned about the actions of the Mayor at the Council meeting.
Mayor Mannoun is the claimant in the current investigation and therefore there is a clear conflict of interest.
For him to exercise the deciding vote to determine the outcome undermines the principles of procedural fairness.
The reasons given for termination of Mr Ajaka’s contract are not proven and remain allegations.
Thus, the actions of the Mayor have opened Council to significant risk of breach of contract proceedings.
As a result of the significant concerns we have outlined, we have lodged a rescission motion in accordance with the procedures of Council’s Code of Meeting Practice and our responsibilities under the Local Government Act 1993.
The events of last night have amplified our alarm at the ongoing deterioration of standards of good governance at Liverpool Council.

Signed by:
Councillor Dr Betty Green
Councillor Ali Karnib
Councillor Charishma Kaliyanda
Councillor Peter Harle
Councillor Karress Rhodes

Petition/Submission opposing selling off Council Assets as listed in the Liverpool City Council Budget of 2024-2025.

Liverpool City Council is proposing to sell two significant income producing properties as listed in the proposed Budget Papers’ Long Term Financial Plan in Section 23. Info here:https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/259091/DPOP-2024-25-V9-150524-WEB.pdf

The first is the sale of 3 Hoxton Park Road. It currently generates an income by leasing the property with an annual return of more than $200k and apart from its long-term property value increase.
It is currently occupied by the State Emergency Services (SES) and are likely to remain as tenants for the foreseeable future.
The land also forms an essential component of the Woodward Park Recreational Precinct Masterplan. It envisions this area as a major Recreational Park for future generations.

Council received a $42m grant to build substantial water features at the rear of the Whitlam Centre and Brickmakers Creek, which is part of the land at 3 Hoxton Park Road Liverpool. Hence it cannot be sold without major detrimental effects on the project and likely prevent the project going ahead at all.

The second is the sale of 33 Moore Street, the previous Administration Centre valued at around $70m and partially leased to the University of Wollongong which intends to lease the whole of the building generating an income of around $10m p.a., it also includes the lease of the old Library.

The income from leasing this property formed the financial basis for repaying the loan used to build Civic Place at 50 Scott Street. Without the income from 33 Moore Street, Council would need to find an additional $10m p.a. to pay back the loan and possibly affect ratepayers’ services.
The proposal is a questionable financial decision and places Council into future deficits as shown in the Long-term Financial Plan.

Selling substantial income producing assets is not only a financial disaster it is not in the best interests of ratepayers and the community and could lead to considerable increased Council rates.

To protect all Liverpool ratepayers, please sign this petition opposing the sale of 3 Hoxton Park Road Liverpool and 33 Moore Street Liverpool .

Submissions should be made in writing with the reference 2024/1883 and addressed to: The Chief Executive Officer, Liverpool City Council, Locked Bag 7064, Liverpool BC, NSW 1871 or mail [email protected]

Note: Submissions close 5pm, Tuesday 11 June 2024.

Below is the document you can download, sing and ask friends and neighbours to consider doing so. Then upload to the email address above or take to Council at 50 Scott Street Liverpool by the due date above.
https://lcit.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Budget-Submission-2024-25.pdf

lcit.com.au

Grove Street Casula – Need for closure.
A group of Casula residents, representing residents of Grove Street Casula, presented a submission at the April General Meeting of Liverpool City Councils’ Public Forum for the urgent closure of Grove Street at the Hume Highway.

Many vehicles carry out illegal entry onto the Hume Highway via this intersection intended as a “left turn only” into Grove Street from the Highway. This has caused numerous crashes in peak hour traffic. While only one fatality has been recorded, many crashes occur every month, but due to a lack of reporting crashes to the Police, many go unreported and hence appear to reduce the need to close off access to the Hume Highway.

The presentation, made by several residents including Dr Criss Moore, resulted in Liverpool City Council, via an urgency Motion initially put forward by Councillor Peter Harle and supported by all Councillors, to take urgent action to progress the closure of Grove Street as soon as possible.

Councils Traffic Committee conducted a special meeting to support the action of the residents and Councillors.
Residents Presentation here:

Grove Street Casula – Need for closure. | Liverpool Community Independents Team A group of Casula residents, representing residents of Grove Street Casula, presented a submission at the April General Meeting of Liverpool City Councils’Public Forum for the urgent closure of Grove Street at the Hume Highway.

Liverpool City Council has placed its proposed 2024-25 Budget on public display for 28 days. The proposed Budget indicates Council will have a modest surplus of around $4m, sadly, apart from an increase in your annual rates of 5%, that is only possible by selling several significant and strategic income producing assets worth tens of millions of dollars this year, followed by further income producing assets sales in following years. More information here:

Council 2024-25 Budget. | Liverpool Community Independents Team Liverpool City Council has placed its proposed 2024-25 Budget on public display for 28 days. The proposed Budget indicates Council will have a modest surplus of around $3.5m, sadly, apart from an increase in your annual rates of 5%, that is only possible by selling several significant and strategic....

An investigation into Liverpool City Council should have occurred from the very first Council Meeting in February 2022. At this meeting, the Mayor moved a controversial Mayoral Minute to dismiss a very capable General Manager, that led Council through it’s most difficult period in its history, without any explanation.
Dismissing capable senior staff has been the hallmark of the Mayor and his team since the Administrator ceased control in 2008.

I welcome this much-needed inquiry following the obvious dysfunction and chaos which has plagued Liverpool City Council.

Liverpool Council has been the subject of scandal after scandal in recent months, and it’s time we finally get to the bottom of what’s really going on.

The people of Liverpool deserve better. In a cost of living crisis, we simply cannot afford to have a Council more focussed on itself than providing basic services to the community.

The transparency of sunlight is the best disinfectant. I encourage all those with any information about malfeasance and mismanagement at Council to come forward so these issues can be resolved once and for all.

It’s not just Liverpool City Councill promoting this back to nature nonsense in urban areas, Sydney Water is behind this costly, risky health and safety plagued drive to remove perfectly working stormwater drainage systems referred to as “low flow under ground pipes” in areas such as St Clair, near St Marys and Blacktown, constructed some 25 years ago are in danger of being ripped up and replaced with high maintenance “back to nature” stormwater drainage systems.
Examples: https://lcit.com.au/proposed-stormwater-drainage-systems/

🛑💧Fears by a councillor that dead animals, a mosquito problem and “unsustainable” maintenance costs could plague a multimillion-dollar plan to rejuvenate a flood-prone creek have been dismissed by Liverpool council.

📌Read the full story here 👉 https://bit.ly/49J5AO5

A great idea, it allows home Solar Systems to contribute to energy storage that otherwise would be turned off.

The State owned WaterNSW is investigating this very exciting project with ZEN Energy to bring a pumped hydro system to Wollondilly. According to their studies the water will be used in a closed system so it won't affect the water in Lake Burragorang and it will power up to 500,000 homes. I look forward to the engagement with community, traditional owners for this exciting project!

Read more here: https://www.waternsw.com.au/water-services/renewable-energy-and-storage-program/Western-Sydney-Pumped-Hydro-Project

A costly proposal being considered by the Mayor of Liverpool City Council.

A new 20,000 seat stadium for Wests Tigers could be built in Liverpool. The project has been proposed by the club and Liverpool City Council

The proposed stadium would be built on the corner of Hume Highway and Memorial Avenue in Liverpool and takes in Whitlam Aquatic Centre, the netball facility and potentially Hillier Oval.

The proposal would depend on up to 3000 new apartments being built on the site, with a mixture of private homes, public housing and build-to-rent properties.

Thoughts? 🤔

So, Liverpool Council had the highest average outstanding DA approvals for June 2023, why? The reasons are varied including that it has one of the highest DA applications in the state, indicative of its high housing growth.
For the past decade there has been a critical statewide shortage of qualified planners and assessors leading to lengthy DA delays.
It doesn’t help when planners move amongst Councils for higher pay, often leaving unfinished DAs passed onto the next available planner causing additional delays.
There are no easy answers for a community that expects a high standard of assessment, reducing those to achieve a higher throughput leads to risks and safety concerns as evidenced from several previous faulty tower constructions within the Metropolitan area, be careful what you wish for.