Sydney City Councillor Christine Forster has derided Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s “loony” move to enforce gender quotas for new CBD developments.
In December, Sydney City Council passed changes which meant a gender ratio of 40 per cent male, 40 per cent female, and 20 per cent of any gender would be required for any architecture firm used in high rise designs.
Ms Forster told Sky News the policy was a “loony kind of hoop” which Ms Moore likes to make people jump through, but in reality shows how she is an “anti-business, anti-development lord mayor”.
She criticised the lord mayor’s general approach to development and how it has created “more red tape” and more complexity around planning which will govern Sydney’s CBD for decades.
The gender requirements originally were designed to be 50-50, which received pushback from industry groups, according to Ms Forster.
“It’s gone to this kind of 40-40-20 which really effectively is saying that they’re requiring fir
The Sydney City Council has come up with “more costly hoops for developers to jump through”, putting into place a gender ratio rule for architects, according to Sky News host Chris Smith.
“When developers and architects sit down to design new buildings nowadays, they’re faced with having to cater for all kinds of green demands,” Mr Smith said.
“Could you imagine a council adding to this green tape, by creating rules around gender diversity?
“Constructing buildings with gender in mind … well that could only be the brainchild of one local council and one mayor: Clover Moore’s Sydney City Council.”
In December, Sydney City Council passed changes which meant a gender ratio of 40 per cent male, 40 per cent female, and 20 per cent of any gender split would be required for any architecture firm used in high rise designs.
“Who cares who comes up with a good design?” Mr Smith said.
“At this time we need to find shortcuts to turbo charge construction and growth so
Through recent natural disasters, global upheavals and a pandemic, Australia’s political centre has largely held.
Australians may have disagreed at times, but they have also kept faith with governmental norms, eschewing the false allure of populism beguiling voters elsewhere.
Our federal and state governments enjoy broad public confidence and draw their core legitimacy from the middle ground, whether it be centre-left or centre-right.
But if Australians followed the 2020 presidential race in the United States with greater-than-usual interest, it was because when boiled down, it presaged a plausible descent for Australia’s politics, too.
Two very different futures The recent US election showed a deeply divided United States.
Council OKs church’s rezoning request
By Sheryl Roadcap - sroadcap@aimmediamidwest.com
SIDNEY The rezoning request of a 3.238 acre tract of land owned by the North Broadway Church of Christ on North Broadway Avenue, from an R-3, multi-family residence district, to a B-1, local business district, was approved by the Sidney City Council Monday evening.
The rezoning ordinance was adopted by City Council during its hybrid method teleconference meeting.
A public hearing was held during the meeting for the request of Brent Wright, on behalf of the North Broadway Church of Christ, for the rezoning of the property at 2655 N. Broadway Ave. The property is located on the west side of Broadway Avenue and north of Hoewisher Road. No members of the public spoke.
Houston comments on rejected EMS contract
By Sheryl Roadcap - sroadcap@aimmediamidewest.com
HOUSTON The fiscal officer of the Houston Joint Ambulance District Board, Glenda Stangel, wants it known why the board was unable to accept a contract submitted in December by the city of Sidney for ambulance emergency services from Sidney Fire.
Sidney City Council adopted legislation Dec. 14, 2020, for the city to enter into a contract with the Houston Joint Ambulance District to provide emergency ambulance service to Houston for six months to help with its need due to lack of staffing after Fire Chief Chad Hollinger recommended to not extend Sidney’s mutual aid agreement with Houston past Dec. 31. The agreement was no longer effective because of Houston’s significant staffing issues and therefore its inability to reciprocate mutual aid to Sidney.