Sound tracks of life - music, creativity and nostalgia.

Space today to do something creative, something that frees the spirit, for me it can be a simple pencil drawing an extravagant unfinished painting, a little bit of felting, collage- the options so endless. I love it most when I'm feeling fearless knowing that whats before me is mine not for someone else to critique. I'm generally fearless because I don't create for others I create for me and it doesn't matter what an others response is. One day I will make more time for life drawing- its so much fun to go through the short drawing sessions before the climax of the long pose, last time I experienced life drawing I was the muse taking other peoples pencils, pastels and charcoals on a journey.

Its amazing what bubbles up to the surface of your mind when at play, sometimes nostalgia, sometimes longing, sometimes hopeful for the unknown. What tumbles out can be a revelation, a catharsis or simply playful.

Always though I have music playing, creating the creative soundtrack. My taste in music is as eclectic as my artistic endeavours. A symphony one day, seventies punk another. The moods of the period preceding sort of blend into a  soundtrack that often ends with mother and daughters flinging themselves around the lounge room miming the words of some vacuous but fun pop song. The soundtracks are a bit like dream, song snippets from other times.

So nostalgia was the theme today for crafts long forgotten and albums less played. In between doing my bits I helped Tannar with her lemon meringue pie (oh sweet nostalgia how I love LMPie) and from the depths came some old Midnight Oil lyrics. I ha vent purposely played Midnight Oil since Peter Garrett joined the Labour Party and put on a suit!

Midnight Oil entered my play list when I entered Australia in 1982 as a impressionable 12 year old fresh from Belfast. My Belfast crowd were all younger brothers and sisters and we were trying ever so hard to emulate their older siblings depressed swaggers and wild playlsits of Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Public Image, The Clash...mind you the New Romantics were emerging and when we though no one was listening switched to the softer tunes of Depeche Mode, Ultravox, The Cure and Co which still provided plenty of angst and unrequited love lyrics perfect for  pubescent pre teens.

Imagine my shock landing in the land of sunshine after two weeks in rainy season Indo- everything seemed so bright and pure- no goths- no punks- no jumpy people, no bomb scares, NO BODY SEARCHES!

When I finally went to school my first real  friend Shelley was quintessentially Australian - blond hair, blue eyes, beach babe in the burbs, who spent holidays in Queensland. It was either Shelley or the neighbours son Michael who rolled out the first copy of the Oils 10-1 and that was it hooked! It was sunshine angst that questioned the times, corny love songs, grunge guitar and Hirst's awesome drums. We loved the first album , and ep bird noises , place without a postcard was up there too- how could we not love lyrics like- 'theres a shit storm a coming' and 'when I'm screamin- I scream in blue'. Shelley and I somehow managed to get ourselves to an Oils gig at the Horden Pavilion and were carried away in the heaving crowd- I'm sure there were parts of that night where the manic up and down heave meant that my feet didn't touch the floor for about an hour we were so packed into the middle of the mosh. It was worth getting grounded for!

Its amazing how the memory recalls 'stuff' especially song lyrics that you thought had left long ago! How many times Shelley and I must have sung those songs at the top of our lungs ....'everyone says that loves on special  on sale and everything you ever wanted you gotta pay for it seems so easy and gettable yes its real, if you got money its such a steal'....grrlll power had nothing on these tunes.

I didn't buy every album after Red Sails I thought they were starting to sell out and the Hunters and Collectors were playing live everywhere and giving us what we wanted-thumping grinding base that would make the crowds heave. Seymour never seemed to sell out completely to the big bucks, corporate coats and cigars.

Wonder if your nostalgia remembers it like mine Shelley. Happy Birthday friend.

Councils Fear Community Scrutiny in Local Environment Plan Deliberations

Councils Ordinary Meeting 26 October 2011

Motion no 70.

1. During further future considerations of the Local Environment Plan 2009 (SLEP 2009), Council conduct all meetings, breifings etc as 'open' to the community.

2. Council publish on its website the submissions recieved from the community in regards to the SLEP2009

3. Council give greater weighting to the submission contributed by the 'Shoalhaven LEP Review Committee.



The public exhibition period for Shoalhavens Local Environment Plan ended a fortnight ago. Public sessions have been well attended and there is some level of interest from the community. The next steps in the building of the local environment plan is to review the submissions and consider how council will or will not incorporate the requests made into the final document.

Council staff will summarise the issues and present a report most likely to a series of breifings to get Councils direction on how to respond. These breifings are held in confidential session and are not supposed to create binindg decisions the public are not allowed to attend either as witness or particpant.

Bringing this motion to Council was inviting a hiding to nowhere as the dinosaurs at Shoalhaven Council have not yet evolved enough to understand that informed decision making and infomed constituients makes for a much better relationship and better outcomes. Councillor Brumerskji accused me of being  'irresponsible' and that it was 'problemtic' to include community who could go away and use our discussions against us.

Councillor Guile accused me of being audacious in bringing such a motion forward as it revealed my true colors in wanting to support my Green's mates and stack the room with SAC . Well that was a complement really as I certainly do want to represent the people who voted for me- who also see that community involvment is a 21st Century attitude.

It was obvious from the arguments that number three was the most abhorent part of the motion as the accusations were layed on thick and fast about trying to 'skew' the process by giveing one  submission higher weighting- I think that their argument just shows a lack of understanding in how a network of like minded people crafted a seriously challengeing submission to the Local Environment Plan. However I was willing to show some flexability and removed number three and amended number two to request  the summary that will be prepared be available publicly.

Still no joy though- I was only able to gain support from Clrs Ward and Fergusson for the revised version of the motion.

Check out the business papers in particular the General Managers Comments on page 69 of the reports. Im astounded that he claimed that the Local Environment Plan Review Group was less than representative as it was just over half of the groups sponsored by Council (13/24) and that 3 other community groups were included making it 16 groups which actually makes the representation more inclusive than the average 7/6 Council decision.

Over to you -Should Council include community in its Local Environment Plan breifings - vote in the poll and leave your comments

Ulladulla Civic Centre / Library complex gets an budget increase for the upgrade

It started out on a journey to fix the kitchen and airconditioning.

Then we found that there was more than a million dollars worth of defects to bring the building up to standard.

I thought it would be good to see if we could extend the value of money spent on the Civic Centre and pushed for a further upgrade to the Library and improved community spaces.

Councillors plucked a magic figure of $5.1 million out of the air as the price for the fix up.

After some constructive sessions with architects Brewster Hjorth, community reps, staff and Councillors it was decided that the $8mill model was the one that would satisfy the communities needs without going for the top shelf model.

Last night Council unanimously voted the extra $2.9 mill to get the project up and running.

It was an interesting evening with a lot of back slapping but still a lot of negativity about increasing the library size.
There are national Library standards that give Councils guidance as to how big the space should be for the number of people living in the service area. Ulladulla Library should be 10 times its small 150 sqms, but Councillors have agreed to a compromise of around 600sqm- positively luxurious compared to the current cramped conditions.

Councillors seem to forget that libraries aren't all about books, but great places of respite on cold / hot days to pick up a periodical or a newspaper and catch up on the happenings of the world. A place were babies ans small children take their first steps into the literary world of amazing big picture books, bright colors and phonetics. Were young people can meet with the idea of doing 'homework' but more often work on their relationships and in Ulladulla were a tourist can call in get the latest information on things to do and places to stay.

So now the staff have the task of preparing the plans for final exhibition and comment while also preparing tender documents to get the project underway- sometime in 2012 after the blessing of the fleet.

I look forward to one day soon sitting in the library searching the catalogue for interesting reads and not having to have my chair pulled in so tight that my elbows are on the computer screen. I look forward to the centre redefining its place as the heart of the town, were all people are welcome- not wanting to wish time away but roll on 2012!

Fill illegally dumped- The Times 26 October 2011

How would you answer this email?

I thought I would share with you a recent email I recieved- Its not unlike mail I have had in the past- yet it's a quandry. I was curious to watch the show that inspired the email and I was not surprised at all- It just about describes some of the areas in Shoalhaven. Equity was one of the reasons I joined the Greens and that mean equity in all areas not just the human dominated one. i did put together a reply for the author and like many replies I have written languishs in the draft box for it seems futuile to respond - leave me a comment and tell me what you think

Amanda.......

Email recieved 5 October 2011 sent to all Councillors, Local Members and Some Chamber of Commerce people.


I suspect many of you were too busy or unmotivated to partake of “Four Corners” tonight. It was the best commentary and lesson for the politicians and corporate thieves that I have seen in the last ten years and demonstrated the pitiful performances of governance and empathy that has had me screaming at the television set for the last 12 years since leaving corporate life myself and watched the demise of our manufacturing industries and employment in Australia.

 But...... I wonder if you are all capable of understanding what you are seeing Listen carefully to the “Words from the Mouths of Babes” & “the man that lost his $800 a month job” in Leicester and now  brings up 3 children on $200 per month as his job was lost offshore ( probably to Eastern Europe – our equivalent to Asia).
 The statistics that are presented as graffiti on the brick walls throughout the show are quite staggering and you should take special note of these if you watch the rerun............ if you missed it.

 Overall it presents a frightening picture and don’t be blasé about it as you will find comparisons related to issues ( albeit of a lesser nature) fermenting in our paradise brought about by extreme unemployment ( especially in the area where we want to resolve the problem by putting in a 24 hr police station).. What a resolution.
This Four Corners presentation addresses the problems and if you listen carefully you should get an answer –get them jobs – not youth or student allowances... give them opportunities to take pride in their work and themselves –it’s not rocket science—it worked for 200 years before the do-gooders came along

This four tiered economy of ours, with its focus on mining, mining and more mining  is leading us down the same path as what you will see in this episode.......... so I suggest that the “Top of the Tree” starts to wake up and realises that if the bottom of the tree is starving and rotting the top of the tree comes crashing down

What does that mean to the South Coast, Gilmore and our beautiful Shoalhaven?
 If Sydney gets a cold we get pneumonia...

 We have to liberalise our LEP, Expand and upgrade  our hospitality standards  to attract higher financially endowed tourism as well as our current emphasis on Family Tourism, expand our thinking beyond JB because its at saturation capacity, get those marinas going in JB & especially Ulladulla to develop diving and deep sea fishing industries,
Sink a few navy wrecks ( not just one)  in key locations adjacent to our struggling coastal villages. By expanding and upgrading our tourism we will also increase fringe service industries and increase turnover and jobs  in existing businesses-----
I know you all keep saying these things but for gods sake do something about it before its too late ............again
Don’t be frightened to take the hard decisions now and build a couple of 6-8-10 storey hotels in key tourist positions ( with views for a change).
The Ulladulla Civic Centre should be a JV with a major hotel group and encompass a 200 hundred hotel overlooking the harbour with a  convention (civic) centre, library and tourism centre incorporated in it...
.Can you all handle that???????
 Then when your done with that build the marina ( or do both at once) –wow what a feature that would be????/
You keep talking about creating jobs and a future for our youngsters –here’s one start in the underprivileged and cash starved Southern Shoalhaven that would turn it’s economy upside down....
 Not only that we have top TAFE facilities turning out excellent chefs, waiters, administrators etc and then they have to go away to work?????????????
Are you all frightened that Ulladulla with a beautiful harbour, marina and smashing accommodation would become the NICE or MONACO of NSW or Australia----what a fantastic thought???????????
Think of the fringe benefits for all locations in the Shoalhaven –Nowra may need a domestic air terminal to handle the traffic –wow.......... more jobs.......heliport at Ulladulla........more jobs.........Marina.....stacks of jobs...........

 Tough One Amanda????

 Let’s get something going for a change---talk is cheap---and it’s only money.......what the hell Have a good day

Deliberative Democracy and the Grassroots Forum.

It was cold and rainy last Wednesday and I really didn't feel like leaving home- more like curling up in front of the fire with the kids -listening to their chatter, reading, drinking tea.

My vehicle was playing up so I had to borrow a car to get to Nowra.

What a lovely surprise to see a packed room of people interested in better decision making!

Organised by Huskisson identity Graeme Gibson- Grassroots was a night not just talking about democracy but a two way conversation on how we can work together better with government.

The panel of four provided short  stimulating presentation which gave the crowd  ideas and the confidence to be bold in their own responses to the questions.

The 'world cafe' model was used for the second part of the evening. All gathered got to brainstorm ideas on how we can all 'do' democracy better and what ideas we had as a collective to improve process.

I was reminded of the attempts I have made at Shoalhaven Council to get meetings more open to community needs and even though these ideas have been boo-hooed out the door, I think that some osmosis is happening and the benefits may be reaped in other ways,(see earlier blog posts)

So I came away from the night feeling more positive about the future- 100 people had braved a cold wet evening to come out and talk about doing democracy better and there were even two persons under 25!

I look forward to looking at the spectrum of ideas that are currently in the process of being written up for distribution- hopefully the ideas will inspire me to raise them with Council.