2024 City of Newcastle Council election

Steve O’Brien, Samantha Ashby and Stefani Strazzari are standing as Ward 1 councillors on December 4.

Policy platform 

Housing

Newcastle needs action on housing.

Census data shows that there are more than 3,000 unoccupied private dwellings in the Newcastle Local Government Area (LGA) with more than 1200 vacancies in the 2300 postcode alone. https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/POA2300

We want to see the long term vacant residential properties either tenanted at affordable rents or having to pay higher rates.

More properties available to lease will also help keep a lid on rents.

This also applies to Airbnb properties that are not owner occupied and kept solely for short term rental.

Revenue raised from a levy on vacant properties will help establish a rollover fund for public, eco-friendly, sustainable and affordable housing.

Affordable housing to us should be equal to 30% or less of a person’s wage.

We also want an audit of commercial buildings and unused church properties (which don't pay rates) to see what can be repurposed for emergency accommodation. 

The proposal to repurpose the Stockton Centre as accommodation is an idea we Socialists have been proposing for years.

Having a secure and safe roof over one’s head is a basic human right. As councillors we will fight to:

• Implement rent control
• Push for a minimum of 30% low-income rentals in all major housing developments
• Enhance lodgers’ rights in boarding houses
• Support the push to cap rent at 30% or less of a person’s wage
• Support renters’ rights with no forced evictions, covert or otherwise
• As temporary measures we abide by the commitments we made in 2021 to endorse the Hunter Community Alliance (HCA) proposals on Housing/Homelessness. HCA called on Council to:
  • identify suitable locations for safe car-sleeping zones in the LGA
  • continue to develop public protocols and ongoing training for council staff who engage with people experiencing homelessness
  • assist local homelessness service providers to implement a trial of locker systems for people experiencing homelessness
  • collect data on the work of charitable and private sector homelessness services that might not already be captured by State or Federal governments
  • push the council towards significant affordable housing benchmarks and an Affordable Housing Contributions Scheme, including setting a target for the percentage of Uplift Value to go to Affordable Housing

No rates rises for residences

Council rate rises impact on the cost of living and we will never vote for a rate rise for residential properties.

We would not need rate rises if the Council better consulted with the community.

The proposal to build over the Lambton ovals is a good example of inadequate community consultation.

A democratic council would be more open to listen, consult and avoid the corporate excesses and vanity projects that blow the budget and puts pressure on rates.

If Newcastle had genuine participatory democracy we could ensure Council worked with residents and put community not corporate interests first.

We support rate concessions for pensioners, the unemployed, single parents, people with disability and others when dependent on welfare payments.

The base rate for businesses should be higher than that of residents.

We will fight for an open council and more democracy

By acting like a corporation Council has lost significant connection with residents. We will work with residents’ groups to empower residents to play a more active role in council decision making.

To that end, we will fight to:

• Ensure that council publications profile the community, not councillors
• End confidential briefings of councillors by developers
• Allow resident-initiated motions to council
• Hold regular ward meetings
• Reduce the salaries of the CEO, half a million dollars is too much 
• Designate a portion of public works funds for projects to be decided upon by community consultation and vote
• Ensure residents can ring Council and not get shunted off into a webpage 
• Restore community and residents' say over development, no more tick and flick 'consultation'
• Apply building quality standards and move away from private certifiers
• Undertake an audit and take action to ensure full disability access to all public facilities.

Climate emergency

While Council has done some good work around the climate emergency it needs to be consistent.

Coal exports contribute massively to Newcastle’s overall contribution to carbon emissions and global warming, and I will be supporting the Rising Tide harbour ‘blockade’ in November.

Offshore wind power generation is a positive step towards a rapid transition to renewables and the creation of good union jobs.

Council, however, also needs to implement practical measures to prepare for climate emergencies, for example, open up public spaces such as libraries during heat waves, keep parklands and public spaces green and accelerate tree planting. As for inland swimming pools, they should be free not privatised.

Council is supporting the development of an advanced weapons system plant at Williamtown airport. I oppose this. It is a distraction from developing solar and offshore wind as areas for new jobs and will potentially contribute to human rights abuses internationally, such as we are seeing in Gaza.

The City of Newcastle plans to reach zero net emissions for its operations by 2030. However, more needs to be done now to avoid climate catastrophe. Council needs to drive a further reduction in city-wide emissions (operational, business and community) of at least 75% by 2030. Council should include natural gas in its emissions calculations and acknowledge the 400 million tonnes of CO2 emissions that are generated each year by the coal exported via the Carrington, Tighes Hill and Kooragang Coal Loaders.

To that end, Council should:

• Establish a community advisory group to involve the community in regular monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of Council’s Climate Action Plan
• Ensure low-lying areas are subject to flood mitigation
• Encourage renewable energy use by all economic players
• Support a push to radically increase environmental efficiency for all new buildings
• Support establishment of energy cooperatives to provide cheaper electricity through solar panels and batteries, solar hot water systems and by retrofitting homes.
• The continued clearing of peri-urban native vegetation is not ecologically sustainable, Save the Link Road.
• We endorse the Hunter Community Alliance (HCA) 2021 proposals on the climate emergency
  • Commit Council to taking all possible steps to significantly reduce - by at least 50% by December 2030 - the city-wide emissions for the LGA, and by 100% by December 2035.
  • Council to fund and publish a pathway document relating to this target that identifies issues and options, sets clear targets to be achieved by implementing specific steps.
  • Fund and implement measures to progress economic diversification and structural economic change as fossil fuel industries become less reliable within the LGA and more broadly across the Hunter.
  • Commit budget and staff to work on equipping the LGA for more frequent and intense heat waves, together with developing LGA wide plans to address and mitigate the impact of rising sea levels.
  • Establish a community reference group for consulting with, and reporting to twice yearly, on ALL climate action plan initiatives, including contributions to Royalties for Renewal and Hunter Joint Organisation.

A healthier more liveable city

The City of Newcastle area includes many heritage buildings, parks and significant trees. It must ensure people and the environment are put before profit in decisions related to all of these.

We pledge to work to:

• Free entry into the council pools, Support the heritage restoration of the Newcastle Ocean Baths and keep the pool accessible to all
• Initiate tree-planting programs; support efforts to grow appropriate plants on verges; preserve local greenspaces and waterways; and rehabilitate degraded environments to help cooling in hot weather. Encourage more and support existing community gardens
• Restore youth spaces
• Prevent destruction of heritage trees. Lobby Shortland Electricity to treat trees with care when lopping/pruning
• Convert community centres into “heat relief centres” during heatwaves
• Repurpose unused council land for urban food farming and gardens
• Mandate an environmentally sustainable and ethical procurement policy
• Improve recycling and reuse programs, and mandate recycling for local commercial and industrial tenants
• Support energy and water audits to reduce unnecessary use/wastage
• Oppose unconventional gas in New South Wales and continue to promote a Nuclear Free Newcastle
• Encourage Council to be more proactive in progressing economic diversification and structural economic change as the region becomes less reliant on coal mining and power stations. This includes support for phasing out the dangerous Kooragang ammonium nitrate plant.
• Plan for the eventual rehabilitation and conversion of the Carrington, Tighes Hill and Kooragang coal loaders to more sustainable uses.
• Support Beyond Zero Emissions’ proposal for a Hunter Renewal Energy Precinct and Hunter Jobs Alliance initiatives, and leverage the NSW Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund for clean green industries
• Redevelop the rehabilitated sections of old BHP site into a sustainability precinct with housing, parkland, cycle ways and clean technology jobs. Ensure the entire site is rehabilitated.
• Establish more park and ride services to the city
• Real time monitoring of air quality and waterways around Stockton, Mayfield and Throsby Creek for industrial contaminants
• Real action on the Stockton beach erosion
• Restore community input on all development, no more tick and flick consultation
• Expand not shrink the Wickham Village in the Wickham Master Plan 
• Ensure the strictest standards are applied to building quality
• Undertake an audit and take action to ensure full disability access to all public facilities
• We support the Friends of Newcastle Ocean Baths Inc's campaign in Save the Baths from defacto privatisation and commercialisation into another licenced venue: 
  • Retain the open-air change rooms. Reinstate the women's change facility in the now-empty northern enclosure. Upgrade and expand the change rooms to meet contemporary expectations for safety and inclusivity.
  • Renovate the current kiosk without extending its footprint and restore the caretaker residence with future use decided via effective, genuine and ongoing consultative processes.
  • Inclusion of the Baths to the State Heritage Register so as to as ensure the Baths are properly conserved and attract state grants.

Jobs and cost of living

Council is facing budgetary pressures, but it cannot succumb to a user-pays approach. To that end, we will support campaigns to:

• Push for full funding of Council services by state and federal governments
• Expand rate relief for pensioners
• Maintain core Council services using Council labour.
• Oppose the privatisation and outsourcing of council services
• Reject the misuse of labour hire contractors and casual employees
• Council contracts with local unionised labour
• The cultural sector generates jobs. Support community arts spaces and Keep Music Live
• Support Council training, apprenticeships and internships for vulnerable youth, such as those leaving out of home/foster care
• Promote the establishment of food cooperatives to distribute local produce at a low cost, particularly to those in need
• Ensure no rate rises.

Active, accessible and integrated transport

Only 4% of people in the Newcastle Local Government Areas use public transport to get to work. We will support campaigns to:

• Reverse the privatisation of buses and trams
• Push for better public transport
• Lobby stronger for a Carrington to Wickham to the Foreshore Ferry
• Build more safe, permanent cycle paths, complete Newcastle’s Cycle Safe Plan
• Limit speed to 30 kilometres an hour in residential streets
• Make Newcastle better for pedestrian and cyclists and not just cars

Childcare and children’s services

With many young families in Newcastle, Council’s support for childcare and out-of-school services remains important.

To that end, Council should:

• Retain the Darby Street Childcare centre as a not-for-profit run centre
• Audit for such needs and repurpose unused Council facilities to meet them.

Dignity measures

As councils are the level of government closest to the community, they have an important role to play, especially in helping the most vulnerable.

To that end, council should actively support community health measures such as:

• Provide support for essential services, such as supplying sanitary products in the Council's public facing facilities 
• Ensure public toilets and other amenities remain open and clean
• Support food relief centres such as that provided by Food not Bombs

Palestine Solidarity

We have signed the wevoteforpalestine pledge as follows

1 Ceasefire Advocacy

To support an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza/Palestine, and advocate for all levels of government to apply pressure on Israel to achieve this.

2 International Law and Obligations

To support the United Nations, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to agree that, under international law and our obligations to prevent genocide, we should not send weapons to a state plausibly committing genocide, and to vote in support of a weapons embargo to Israel should you get the opportunity.

3 Ceasefire Motion

To call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza (Palestine), Including through a Council motion, to prevent further loss of life.

4 Divestment from Apartheid Israel

To support a motion and vote for full disclosure and divestment of Council's financial ties to Israel in the context of its illegal occupation and apartheid, and military assault on Gaza.

5 Support for Palestinian Return

To support and vote for motions that concern the provision of Council funds, resources and programs to assist Palestinians in our community who have been forced from their homelands (for example counselling, housing, food relief, English language classes, and cultural immersion support).

6 Sister City Relationships

To create sister city relationships with Gaza including through forming symbolic and practical links with civic organisations that are helping to rebuild Gaza's infrastructure and society.

We need your financial support! 

We don't have any corporate donors, so our people-powered campaign needs your support. If you make a donation to the account below please send us an email with your name to let us know you have made a deposit so we can receipt you as per the NSW Electoral Commission guidelines.

SA NSW Local Goverment Camaign
BSB: 032249 
Account: 419436

Authorised by N. Leka, 472 Hunter Street, Newcastle NSW 2300

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