I first heard about the problem when attending a local Greens group meeting at the CWA building, our regular meeting spot. One of the members circulated a petition to "Save the CWA Building", without much explanation.
As I was keen not to give the council any excuse to delay the new Aquatic Centre, I declined to sign the petition at that time, but decided to find out more. My initial thinking was "this building is not as old as me, how can it be Heritage?"
Best way to find out more was to go along to the newly formed Save the CWA building "committee" (STCWABC). I attended a number of meetings. As I found out more - how much it meant to people in the area, how it was listed by various Heritage organisations, how it was a perhaps rare example of the architecture, I came to appreciate the building more, and people's passion for it.
Now I was faced with a dilemma. Would I support saving the building, if it meant a long delay for Aquatic Centre while other alternatives for access were explored.
Fortunately, Mark Cambourn came up with a very, very realistic, viable alternative, that actually looked better than the council's own proposal. (and to this day I am still convinced was a better proposal, despite all the lobbying and mumbo-jumbo council managed to convince the JRPP with). So now my decision was a lot easier.
- I happily promoted the petitions to Save the CWA building.
- I wrote to the Hornsby Advocate - see December 2011 blog entry
- When STCWABC was in need of funds to put out adverts about the coming protest meeting, I took that situation to our local Greens group, and they agreed to fund the advertising.
- I asked if it would be OK for our NSW MLC Spokesperson on Heritage matters could speak at the meeting, and got the approval from the STCWABC (well, Judy Hopwood), and I managed to get David Shoebridge MLC to come to Hornsby and address the meeting. (Personally I had other commitments that day so unfortunately could not attend in person)
- I spoke in defence of the CWA building at the Joint Regional Planning Meeting.
Useful illustration of my approach to representing the community.
I believe this illustrates my openness to listening to, engaging with, community groups, understanding what is important to the community (regardless of my own prior opinion), why it is important, and then making sure their voice is heard in the right places, and do what I can to support that group, to empower that group.
This is what you can expect from me if I am elected as Councillor for A ward. I want to engage with and empower* community groups. Not just on heritage, but on all matters of community interest, including local area community groups and interest groups such as sport, arts, environment, social action etc.
Provided only that the issue is not in opposition to any of the Greens core Principles, which are values shared by the vast majority of community groups - Grass Roots Democracy, Social and Economic Justice and Equity, Sustainability and protection of the Environment, Peace and Non-Violence.
*By Empowerment I mean
- making sure the group has all the information available, to help them develop a real knowledge of the issue,
- has the resources to properly function as a group and consider an issue - perhaps a meeting place, a minutes secretary, a professional facilitator, expert advice, distribution of information, notices etc,
and - that people know the group is being recognised by council as a legitimate voice of the community that must be listened to, properly recognised and responded to.
By publicly recording this, I have also empowered the community to hold me to account. :-)
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