Game of Councils – administrator rumours
• The news of council mergers caused some drama after Ms Vanessa Chan, the previous General Manager of Ashfield Council, became GM for the new Inner West (mega) Council. The previous general manager of Marrickville Council was rumoured to have resigned from his position post-mergers, sending a mass email… which was soon revoked. He’s now the assistant manager of the Council. To celebrate or commiserate, Marrickville Council held a boozy BBQ.
• Inevitably, the new Council’s ‘hand-picked’ administrator has come under fire. It’s been revealed the former North Sydney Liberal councillor Richard Pearson was also the Deputy Director General of the NSW Department of Planning, albeit two years ago. Richardson said he, “Had no role in the assessment or approval of any Westconnex projects in my previous role.” Even so, claims of ‘Orwellian’ censorship arose from the Greens, who said the Facebook posts on the Leichhardt Council page critiquing WestConnex had been ‘dissapeared’ from the merged ‘Inner West Council’ Facebook account. (The posts have now reappeared, including that cartoon of Mike Baird depicted as The Hulk.)
Correction and apology:
Ciao Magazine profusely apologises for statements made in this section of Whispers printed in edition 283, which we have now come to know are factually incorrect. Deicorp is not involved in legal disputes with residents of the Erskineville Star Printery and statements made regarding residents of Redfern were published by Home 789, not Deicorp. Any implication that Petersham RSL Club has not followed due process in their decision to collaborate with Deicorp was not intended and is also unfounded.
