DOCSLIB.ORG

ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 No

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 No ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 No. 39 The Australian Press Council Address: Level 6, 309 Kent Street Sydney 2000 Phone: (02) 9261 1930 or 1800 025 712 Fax: (02) 9267 6826 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.presscouncil.org.au ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 Annual Report No. 39 Year ending 30 June 2015 Level 6, 309 Kent Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Australia Telephone: (02) 9261 1930 1 800 025 712 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.presscouncil.org.au Photo credits Page 2: Britta Campion/Newspix Pages 12,19,20,26,42: Leanne Ho ISSN 0156-1308 Chair’s Foreword It was a great honour and a privilege to be appointed the eighth Chair of the Australian Press Council on 28 November 2014, officially taking up the office on 1 March 2015. As foreshadowed in the Annual Report for 2013-14, the period covered in this Report was one of significant achievement but also considerable tumult. Two Council resolutions relevant to this are set out in Appendix 4. Happily, I can report that the Council has now returned to operating in a very harmonious and productive manner, with few if any unwanted distractions. As I have been strongly and publicly emphasising, the prevailing ethos must be that we are all part of a shared enterprise to maintain high standards of journalism, maintain a high level of public confidence in those standards, and do everything possible to ensure a free and effective press. As a new Chair of the Council and new to the industry, much of the first six months of 2015 was devoted to learning the ropes and meeting with our publisher members, editors, leading journalists, senior officers of the MEAA (the union to which most journalists belong) and the Walkley Foundation, media and communications academics and educators, and members of the NGOs, peak associations, and community groups with which the Council interacts. The body of this report contains the fundamental information about the Council’s operations in 2014- 2015, including membership of the governing body and its various committees; the staffing profile of the Secretariat; the basic facts and figures about complaints-handling (our core function); the development of standards and policy; finances; and other key activities. We have endeavoured to make this Annual Report easier and more rewarding to read. We have increased the use of charts, tables, graphs and photos in order to present the information in a more engaging and helpful way. With that essential information already included, this Foreword will focus on a few key areas that I believe are worth highlighting. Improvements to the complaints-handling process Although there is always room for improvement, the Council does a good job on behalf of the community by: (a) resolving the concerns of complainants and delivering targeted remedies in a low cost, low risk system; and (b) holding the media to account and working with the industry to lift standards and performance. Less than 10 per cent of complaints are referred to the Adjudication Panel for determination, with around 75 per cent of those complaints fully or partly upheld. This pattern is broadly consistent with other industry complaints-handling schemes, ombudsman’s offices and public regulators in Australia and overseas. It is also broadly consistent with the general legal system, in which the overwhelming number of civil claims and criminal charges are disposed of consensually or summarily, with only a few per cent of the most serious, complex and intractable matters reaching the “pointy end” of the system. The Adjudication Panel is independent and operates without fear or favour. Each Panel session is currently chaired by me or one of our distinguished Vice-Chairs: the Hon John Doyle AC, the former Chief Justice of South Australia, and Julian Gardner AM, formerly Public Advocate and Director of Legal Aid in Victoria. Having observed the Adjudication Panels in action, I am constantly impressed by the diligence, seriousness and judgment of Panel members. It is a cost-free jurisdiction for complainants, and a very cost-effective process for publishers, who would otherwise bear the risks of huge legal costs and damages and wasted senior staff time in defamation actions and related legal proceedings. As detailed elsewhere in this Report, the Council is continuously seeking to refine its processes to make them more streamlined and efficient, and more responsive to feedback from complainants and publications. 3 Promoting a collegial, learning culture As a body with a large mandate but limited resources, the Press Council must constantly work to ensure that its culture is collegial and intelligent, continually learns from experience—both good and bad—and, as mentioned, fosters the view that the maintenance of high standards in the media is a shared enterprise. While the need to resolve complaints will always remain a core function, the Council is developing and testing other strategies for achieving industry-wide improvement, and reassuring the community that this is the case. For example, Council is now being informed more regularly and more fully of the broad patterns of complaints received and the areas in which there appear to be emerging community concerns or sensitivities. Council can then respond to this experience by developing new Specific Standards, or by developing best practice guidelines and other guidance material, or by developing educational and training materials, or some combination of those things, as appropriate to the particular circumstances. There is considerable interest and enthusiasm from newspaper and online editors and managers in the Council partnering in, developing or directly providing education and training programs for working journalists, cadets and others on the Council’s Standards of Practice and on emerging media law issues, such as metadata retention, secrecy laws, whistleblower laws, and anti-terrorism laws that may inadvertently entangle journalists. Strategic planning and organisational reviews With changes in Secretariat personnel, a new Chair and the milestone of the Council’s 40th Anniversary approaching in 2016, we have embarked on a number of important planning and review exercises. These include a review of the Council’s staffing structure, duty statements, reporting lines and HR policies; a review of the effectiveness of our corporate governance mechanisms; and the development of the Council’s first Strategic Plan, to commence in 2016. The Standards of Practice In June 2014, after a substantial period of consultation and refinement, the Press Council approved a revised set of eight General Principles that set out the basic standards of practice expected of member publications (commencing on 1 August 2014). There is general agreement that the General Principles are now in excellent shape: they are clear and concise, sensible and practical, and compliance should not be onerous or unnatural for working journalists, even under pressure. The General Principles have been supplemented by the development of a number of Specific Standards, where appropriate, to be applied in defined circumstances. Again, as part of the attempt to learn from the complaints-handling experience and other feedback, Council may consider from time to time developing new Specific Standards, or guidance, or educational programs. Broadening the membership The Press Council is justifiably proud of the breadth and depth of its membership, encompassing all but one of the major newspaper and magazine publishers in Australia — over 850 mastheads and around 95 per cent of circulation. The Council has also done a reasonably good job in accommodating the digital revolution, both in terms of embracing the associated online websites of traditional/mainstream publishers, as well as the new generation of online-only publishers. Of the top 20 most-visited online news and current affairs sites, about four-fifths are members of the Press Council (for example ninemsn, mUmBRELLA, New Matilda, The New Daily and Crikey, as well as the online operations of News Corp Australia and Fairfax Media) and we are in active talks with a number of possible new entrants. However, there is still one surprising gap in the Council’s membership: the thriving multicultural or “ethnic” press that reflects the reality and vibrancy of our society, in which one in four Australians was born overseas. The Council is now committed to redressing this omission. 4 This growth is not only important for the continued intellectual and financial vitality of the Council, but it also underpins the Council’s very existence. The Council has been successful to date in reassuring the community, and therefore the Commonwealth Government, that there is no need for a formal regulatory apparatus to deal with the press in the manner that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) licenses and regulates radio and TV broadcasters. There is a strong and coherent view among publications, shared by civil libertarians, that more government intervention would imperil freedom of the press and free speech in Australia. Consequently, the Press Council must be able to demonstrate not only its effectiveness in maintaining high standards of journalism, but also that it effectively covers the whole field. Advocacy for free speech and freedom of the press The first Chair of the Press Council, retired High Court Justice Sir Frank Kitto, was of the view that the Council’s main role in advancing freedom of the press should be its complaints-handling function, which ensures public confidence in the integrity and standard of media practice. But he also acknowledged that the Council needed to be an advocate for press freedom. Times have changed, and the current circumstances require more emphasis on this advocacy responsibility. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press may have a strong cultural hold in Australia, but in the absence of entrenched constitutional or statutory protection they rest on flimsy legal foundations. Unfortunately, the traditionally fine balance has been tipping steadily against freedom in recent times.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
    ï . •,";,£ CASL M T. ^oÛNTAE À SUL'S, REVITA 1ENT, HASSLE- NT_ MAIN STR " \CCOUNTA ;, INNOVAT MLUE, CASL : REVITA JOVATh IE, CASL )UNTAE CO M M XIMEN1 VlTA • Ml ^re aW c^Pti ( °rds *cc Po 0 ^rof°>lish lu*t* >nk Lan <^l^ gua a ul Vic r ntz °ko Ono." - Somehow, W( c< Words are enorm i Jheer pleasure of CJ ftj* * - ! love laag^ liant about Words." gM °rder- Franl< Luntz * bril- 'Frank Luntz understands the power of words to move public Opinion and communicate big ideas. Any Democrat who writes off his analysis and decades of experience just because he works for the other side is making a big mistake. His les sons don't have a party label. The only question is, where s our Frank Luntz^^^^^^^™ îy are some people so much better than others at talking their way into a job or nit of trouble? What makes some advertising jingles cut through the clutter of our crowded memories? What's behind winning campaign slogans and career-ending political blunders? Why do some speeches resonate and endure while others are forgotten moments after they are given? The answers lie in the way words are used to influence and motivate, the way they connect thought and emotion. And no person knows more about the intersection of words and deeds than language architect and public-opinion guru Dr. Frank Luntz. In Words That Work, Dr. Luntz not only raises the curtain on the craft of effective language, but also offers priceless insight on how to find and use the right words to get what you want out of life.
    [Show full text]
  • Media Tracking List Edition January 2021
    AN ISENTIA COMPANY Australia Media Tracking List Edition January 2021 The coverage listed in this document is correct at the time of printing. Slice Media reserves the right to change coverage monitored at any time without notification. National National AFR Weekend Australian Financial Review The Australian The Saturday Paper Weekend Australian SLICE MEDIA Media Tracking List January PAGE 2/89 2021 Capital City Daily ACT Canberra Times Sunday Canberra Times NSW Daily Telegraph Sun-Herald(Sydney) Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) Sydney Morning Herald NT Northern Territory News Sunday Territorian (Darwin) QLD Courier Mail Sunday Mail (Brisbane) SA Advertiser (Adelaide) Sunday Mail (Adel) 1st ed. TAS Mercury (Hobart) Sunday Tasmanian VIC Age Herald Sun (Melbourne) Sunday Age Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne) The Saturday Age WA Sunday Times (Perth) The Weekend West West Australian SLICE MEDIA Media Tracking List January PAGE 3/89 2021 Suburban National Messenger ACT Canberra City News Northside Chronicle (Canberra) NSW Auburn Review Pictorial Bankstown - Canterbury Torch Blacktown Advocate Camden Advertiser Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser Canterbury-Bankstown Express CENTRAL Central Coast Express - Gosford City Hub District Reporter Camden Eastern Suburbs Spectator Emu & Leonay Gazette Fairfield Advance Fairfield City Champion Galston & District Community News Glenmore Gazette Hills District Independent Hills Shire Times Hills to Hawkesbury Hornsby Advocate Inner West Courier Inner West Independent Inner West Times Jordan Springs Gazette Liverpool
    [Show full text]
  • "The^^ Barracks - the Apia Club
    the balmain Tlie Peninsula association Incorporated news sheet Vol 27 No 10 Issue 219 Founded 1965 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 2 Balmain in Court Local Govt Conference in Albury with a plea for councils to implementing SEPP 32 is that there is TheGovernor opened the Conference focus their efforts on ensuring our kids Theanother Battle for stage Balmain as we has await moved the decision into existing public infrastructure in the locality. Inherit a better world and not to pretend of the Supreme Court on Leichhardt Council, for instance, demonstrated that Council's appeal. The Local Government the sewerage system regularly overflows management is leadership. Then followed Conference in Albury unanimously and is clearly inadequate. As we all know 3 days of 25 guest speakers, 122 notices of supported the appeal. The Mayor, Aid the waste water from showers, dish motion, debate, resolutions and long Lan7 Hand, has said that the Building washers, washing machines etc is many evenings meeting other councillors from all Trades Group of Union had indicated they times the quantities produced by our over NSW. would assist. To raise funds for the appeal grandmothers when the inner city Jeff Shaw, QC, MLC, Opposition a "Battle for Balmain Ball" will be held at population peaked. Justice Pearlman, in Spokesman on Local Government and the Apia Club on Thursday, November 19. her judgement, says such a construction Balmain resident, conceded that planning To illustrate the affects of high density requires the clause in the act to incorrectly was the province of local government housing the Council proposes to temp read the word "existing" as "adequate".
    [Show full text]
  • A Blueprint for Australian Democracy: This Moment and the Renewal of Parliament, Government and Elections
    A Blueprint for Australian Democracy: This Moment and the Renewal of Parliament, Government and Elections Simon Sheikh - (Director - GetUp) with Ian Marsh (Professor, Australian Innovation Research Centre, University of Tasmania) Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, Ken Coghill, Brian Costar, Kathy Jones, Miriam Lyons, Ted Mack, Ian McAuley, Graeme Orr, Kevin Rozzoli, Marian Sawer, George Williams, David Yencken. in partnership with To Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Please find enclosed a report from people from across the country with both practical experience and academic careers dedicated to improving parliamentary process, governance and democracy. We recognise that this moment presents a unique opportunity to reconsider and reform the way our Government works in Australia. The following proposals are based on past practice and practice internationally. While we each have a different opinion on next steps, in the spirit of collaboration, we have found a set of ideas we believe could help our nation get the Parliament and governance it deserves. We urge you to give them your full consideration and to commit to implementing these changes to keep Australian democracy open, vibrant and strong. Yours Sincerely Simon Sheikh (Director, GetUp) Ian Marsh (Professor, Australian Innovation Research Centre, University of Tasmania) Luca Belgiorno-Nettis (Chair, newDemocracy Foundation), Ken Coghill (Professor, Director, Parliamentary Studies Centre, Monash), Brian Costar (Professor, Director, Democratic Audit), Kathy Jones (Director,
    [Show full text]
  • Business Source Corporate Plus
    Business Source Corporate Plus Other Sources 1 May 2015 (Book / Monograph, Case Study, Conference Papers Collection, Conference Proceedings Collection, Country Report, Financial Report, Government Document, Grey Literature, Industry Report, Law, Market Research Report, Newspaper, Newspaper Column, Newswire, Pamphlet, Report, SWOT Analysis, TV & Radio News Transcript, Working Paper, etc.) Newswires from Associated Press (AP) are also available via Business Source Corporate Plus. All AP newswires are updated several times each day with each story available for accessing for 30 days. *Titles with 'Coming Soon' in the Availability column indicate that this publication was recently added to the database and therefore few or no articles are currently available. If the ‡ symbol is present, it indicates that 10% or more of the articles from this publication may not contain full text because the publisher is not the rights holder. Please Note: Publications included on this database are subject to change without notice due to contractual agreements with publishers. Coverage dates shown are the intended dates only and may not yet match those on the product. All coverage is cumulative. Due to third party ownership of full text, EBSCO Information Services is dependent on publisher publication schedules (and in some cases embargo periods) in order to produce full text on its products. Source Type ISSN / ISBN Publication Name Publisher Indexing and Indexing and Full Text Start Full Text Stop Availability* Abstracting Start Abstracting Stop Newspaper
    [Show full text]
  • Non-U.S. Newspapers ™ Available on the Lexisnexis Services
    Non-U.S. Newspapers ™ available on the LexisNexis services As of September 19, 2003 Full text unless otherwise noted. Certain freelance articles and other features within these publications (i.e., photographs, classifieds, etc.) may not be available. ASIA Geography Publication Coverage From File Name Language China China Daily January 1997 CHIDLY English China South China Morning Post July 28, 1992 SCHINA English India Statesman - India, The January 1997 STSIND English Indonesia Jakarta Post January 1997 JKPOST English Japan Japan Times, The January 1, 1998 JTIMES English Japan Mainichi Daily News May 1993 1 MAINWS English Korea Korea Herald August 1, 1998 KHERLD English Korea Korea Times June 16, 1998 KTIMES English Malaysia Business Times January 2, 1995 MBUSTM English Malaysia Edge, The December 24, 2001 EDGEMA English Malaysia New Straits Times January 1, 1995 NSTRTT English Singapore Business Times May 1, 1992 BUSTMS English Singapore Edge, The May 13, 2002 EDGESI English Singapore Straits Times, The May 1, 1992 STRAIT English Thailand Bangkok Post January 1997 BNGPST English Thailand Nation, The July 1, 1997 NTION English AUSTRALIA—NEW ZEALAND Geography Publication Coverage From File Name Language Australia Advertiser/Sunday Mail, The January 1996 ADVSUN English Australia Age/Sunday Age January 1997 AGEMLB English Australia Australian Financial Review January 1997 AFREVW English Australia Australian, The January 1996 THEAUS English Australia Ayr Advocate September 1999 AYRADV English Australia Brisbane News January 1999 QBRISN English
    [Show full text]
  • Independents in Australian Parliaments
    The Age of Independence? Independents in Australian Parliaments Mark Rodrigues and Scott Brenton* Abstract Over the past 30 years, independent candidates have improved their share of the vote in Australian elections. The number of independents elected to sit in Australian parliaments is still small, but it is growing. In 2004 Brian Costar and Jennifer Curtin examined the rise of independents and noted that independents ‘hold an allure for an increasing number of electors disenchanted with the ageing party system’ (p. 8). This paper provides an overview of the current representation of independents in Australia’s parliaments taking into account the most recent election results. The second part of the paper examines trends and makes observations concerning the influence of former party affiliations to the success of independents, the representa- tion of independents in rural and regional areas, and the extent to which independ- ents, rather than minor parties, are threats to the major parities. There have been 14 Australian elections at the federal, state and territory level since Costar and Curtain observed the allure of independents. But do independents still hold such an allure? Introduction The year 2009 marks the centenary of the two-party system of parliamentary democracy in Australia. It was in May 1909 that the Protectionist and Anti-Socialist parties joined forces to create the Commonwealth Liberal Party and form a united opposition against the Australian Labor Party (ALP) Government at the federal level.1 Most states had seen the creation of Liberal and Labor parties by 1910. Following the 1910 federal election the number of parties represented in the House * Dr Mark Rodrigues (Senior Researcher) and Dr Scott Brenton (2009 Australian Parliamentary Fellow), Politics and Public Administration Section, Australian Parliamentary Library.
    [Show full text]
  • Australian Press Council Member Publications February 2018
    Australian Press Council Member Publications February 2018 The following titles are published by, or are members of, the constituent body under which they are listed. They are subject to the Press Council’s jurisdiction in relation to standards of practice and adjudication of complaints. Australian Rural Publishers Association Agriculture Today ALFA Lot Feeding Australian Cotton and Grain Outlook Australian Dairyfarmer Australian Farm Journal Australian Horticulture Farm Weekly Farming Small Areas Good Fruit and Vegetables GrapeGrowers and Vignerons Horse Deals Irrigation and Water Resources North Queensland Register Northern Dairy Farmer Queensland Country Life Ripe Smart Farmer Stock and Land Stock Journal The Grower The Land Turfcraft International Bauer Media Group 4 x 4 Australia NW Aus Gourmet Traveller Magazine OK Magazine Aust Bus and Coach Owner Driver Magazine Australian Geographic People Magazine Australian House & Garden Magazine Picture Magazine Australian Transport News Puzzle Book Australian Women's Weekly Real Living Magazine Belle (excluding Band-ons) Recipes Plus Magazine Cosmopolitan Shopping for baby Magazine Cosmopolitan Body Street Machine Cosmopolitan Brides Take 5 Cosmopolitan Extensions Take 5 Pocket Puzzler Deals On Wheels Take 5 Mega Puzzler Earth Movers & Excavators Magazine The Pic-Home Girls Restricted Elle The Pic-Home Girls Unrestricted Empire Magazine TV Week Expert Parenting Oneshots Unique Cars Magazine Farms & Farm Machinery Weight Watchers Magazine Good Health Magazine Wheels Harper’s Bazaar Woman's
    [Show full text]
  • UC Berkeley Working Papers
    UC Berkeley Working Papers Title When No Means No: The Failure of the Australian 1999 Republican Referendum and its Root in the Constitutional Convention of 1988 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4hp7z2qf Author Webb, Martin Publication Date 2000-12-31 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California When no Means No: the failure of the Australian November 1999 Republican Referendum and its Roots in the Constitutional Convention of 1998 Martyn Webb Professor Emeritus University of Western Australia Revised 16 July 2000 Working Paper 2000-16 Working Papers published by the Institute of Governmental Studies provide quick dissemination of draft reports and papers, preliminary analysis, and papers with a limited audience. The objective is to assist authors in refining their ideas by circulating results and to stimulate discussion about public policy. Working Papers are reproduced unedited directly from the author’s page. When no Means No: the failure of the Australian November 1999 Republican Referendum and its Roots in the Constitutional Convention of 1998 Martyn Webb Professor Emeritus University of Western Australia Revised 16 July 2000 Background The structure of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia was based substantially upon the republican constitution of the United States of America. However, in order to preserve the supremacy of parliament and the Westminster or responsible system of government intact, Australia’s constitutional framing fathers deliberately omitted three of
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutional Convention
    CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION [2nd to 13th FEBRUARY 1998] TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS Monday, 2 February 1998 Old Parliament House, Canberra INTERNET The Proof and Official Hansards of the Constitutional Convention are available on the Internet http://www.dpmc.gov.au/convention http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard RADIO BROADCASTS Broadcasts of proceedings of the Constitutional Convention can be heard on the following Parliamentary and News Network radio stations, in the areas identified. CANBERRA 1440 AM SYDNEY 630 AM NEWCASTLE 1458 AM BRISBANE 936 AM MELBOURNE 1026 AM ADELAIDE 972 AM PERTH 585 AM HOBART 729 AM DARWIN 102.5 FM CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION Old Parliament House, Canberra 2nd to 13th February 1998 Chairman—The Rt Hon. Ian McCahon Sinclair MP The Deputy Chairman—The Hon. Barry Owen Jones AO, MP ELECTED DELEGATES New South Wales Mr Malcolm Turnbull (Australian Republican Movement) Mr Doug Sutherland AM (No Republic—ACM) Mr Ted Mack (Ted Mack) Ms Wendy Machin (Australian Republican Movement) Mrs Kerry Jones (No Republic—ACM) Mr Ed Haber (Ted Mack) The Hon Neville Wran AC QC (Australian Republican Movement) Cr Julian Leeser (No Republic—ACM) Ms Karin Sowada (Australian Republican Movement) Mr Peter Grogan (Australian Republican Movement) Ms Jennie George (Australian Republican Movement) Ms Christine Ferguson (No Republic—ACM) Mr Alasdair P Webster (Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) Ms Glenda Hewitt (ungrouped—I Care About Australia’s Future) Dr Pat O’Shane AM (A Just Republic) Brigadier Alf Garland AM (Australian Monarchist League)
    [Show full text]
  • 2310De27bb274909a63468057
    • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 16 NOVEMBER NSW QLD VIC SA WA EVENT DAY #SnapSydney #SnapBrisbane #SnapMelbourne #SnapAdelaide #SnapPerth START START START START START #SnapAustralia 4,657* 1,729 1,552 910 1,607 Hashtag use END END END END END 8,389* 3,670 4,954 1,667 2,708 % growth 80% 112% 219% 83% 69% (+3,732) (+1,941) (+3,402) (+757) (+1,101) TOTAL NATIONAL POSTS UP 86%, TOTAL POSTS ON THE DAY 10,933 Followers START START START START START (for each state 1,586 343 409 102 288 Snap Instagram page) END END END END END 1,887 590 744 197 352 % growth 19% 72% 82% 93% 19% (+301) (+247) (+335) (+95) (+64) TOTAL NATIONAL FOLLOWERS UP 29%, TOTAL FOLLOWERS ON THE DAY 1,042 *NSW figures based only on 2016. as at 17 Nov. ^TOTAL @SnapSydney followers 1,887 87 TITLES 20 TITLES 26 TITLES 14 TITLES 10 TITLES 17 TITLES NSW VIC QLD SA WA • Blacktown Advocate • Bayside Leader • Albert & Logan News • City North Messenger • Advocate • Canterbury/Bankstown • Caulfield Leader • Caboolture Shire Herald • Coast City Weekly • Canning Times Express • Cranbourne Leader • City North News • East Torrens Messenger • Comment News • Central Coast Express • Diamond Valley Leader • City South News • Eastern Courier Messenger • Eastern Reporter • Central Courier • Frankston Leader • North-West News • Leader Messenger • Fremantle/Cockburn Gazette • Fairfield Advance • Greater Dandenong Leader • Northside Chronicle • Northern Messenger • Guardian Express • Hill Shire Times • Heidleberg Leader • Pine Rivers Press/ North • Portside Messenger • Hills Gazette • Hornsby
    [Show full text]
  • Minute of the Mayor
    MM01 - 19/11/2018 NORTH SYDNEY COUNCIL MINUTE OF THE MAYOR Dated: 19 November 2018 RE: Vale Ted Mack No one in recent times had affected the spirit and face of North Sydney more than Ted Mack. He represented this area at all three levels of government - local, state and federal. He is, in fact, the only Australian to have completed this trifecta as an Independent. For that Ted was called the ‘father of the Independents’. His commitment to participatory, open government and his unimpeachable defence of ethics laid the foundation for a truly deep admiration and affection among North Sydney residents. During his time on Council Ted worked to improve the area’s affordable housing stock, refurbish the main oval at St Leonards Park, finalise Civic Park, and improve Stanton Library. He designed a set of bus shelters that still characterise the local streetscape. Two major heritage reviews established an extensive list of protected buildings and the notion of conservation heritage areas. There was much more. Ted’s first encounter with North Sydney Council was triggered by the rapid approval of three high-rise buildings around the house he had lived in with his family since 1966. He was a qualified and experienced architect and had only moved to this area because it was still more affordable than Paddington where he had been born in 1933 and which was one of the first of Sydney’s suburbs to experience gentrification. The approvals affecting Ted’s two storey semis in Neutral Bay were evidence of a Council and planning outlook that had little regard for community notification, let alone consultation.
    [Show full text]