GROUP
MEETINGS
We are back in 2011 with a very different
schedule and location for our meetings. Every month on the third
Wednesday, commencing in February.
16 FEBRUARY, 6:00pm
16 MARCH, 6:00pm
20 APRIL, 6:00pm
18 MAY, 6:00pm
15 JUNE, 6:00pm
20 JULY, 6:00pm
17 AUGUST, 6:00pm
21 SEPTEMBER, 6:00pm
19 OCTOBER, 6:00pm
Get involved,
get active, and make a difference in our area!
If you're interested in
seeing what we're about, call Bill on 0403-139-825
|
 |
|
Last Updated:
September 25, 2011
Newly
affiliated, rearing to go!
At the State Delegates Council of the
NSW Greens held on 27/28 August, the Fairfield/Liverpool Greens
supporters group became officially affiliated as an official local
group, representing the Greens in the LGAs of Fairfield and
Liverpool. This was somewhat historic, as this affiliation means that
there are no areas in NSW not covered by an official group.

Now the serious work is ahead of us. We
saw a dramatic shift in this State in March, when the O'Farrell
Liberals overwhelmed the dreadful NSW ALP in a landslide. In the
face of relentless smear and disinformation campaigns by both the
Coalition and Labor, the Greens managed to grow their representation
in Parliament, though the results in our electorates were mixed. We
are now seeing exactly what life is like under an O'Farrell
Government - the destruction of the Industrial Relations Commission
and the introduction of Workchoices-by-stealth; a parliament so
paralysed and inert that they run out of things to cover; and a
litany of broken promises and laws changed with retrospectivity to
allow them any excess they like.
We have another 3 and 1/2 years of this ahead, and probably more
because the NSW ALP are an unelectable rabble.
In the meantime, we have a Federal Opposition Leader who - aided by
the propaganda of News Ltd - is fixated on bringing down the Federal
Government by whatever foul means at his disposal, and we have one of
our local Councils dominated by extreme-right conservatives who are
spreading fear and misinformation about climate change, and trotting
out opinions from the arch-conservative Heartland Foundation and the
truly dangerous Citizens Electoral Council (who spout the rantings of
Lyndon Larouche, whose theories include that AIDS was developed by
the Soviets, and that Obama wants to put people in "gas
ovens").
The politics of fear, smear, and hate are powerful, and we will have
our work cut out trying to counter the hate and lies of our political
enemies. We must continue working hard for the benefit of our area,
with balance and openness, and not the partisan rancour of our
opponents, and we must present a reasonable, rational alternative to
the hysteria of the scare-mongers.
An inspirational talk
Signe, Danny and Bill managed to be at Parliament House for the event with Mme Ingrid Betancourt, a most amazing
and inspirational lady. With an introduction by David Shoebridge, Mme Betancourt had a conversation with our own Senator Lee Rhiannon, where she gave us
a small window into the terrible ordeal she faced as a captive of the Colombian revolutionaries FARC for six and a half years in the wild South American jungle.

Her insights into human nature, and her belief that the people of her beloved homeland have given themselves up to the
acceptance of corruption as a fact of life were heart-wrenching. Still, through it all, she remains optimistic that good will win in the end, and that
the evils of greed and power that plague her land - and so many others - will fall to the better spirit of mankind, eventually.
Do yourself a favour and get hold of a copy of her book, "Even Silence has an End". It is a gripping read from the very first page. While our Federal Government
is busily falling into lock-step with the appalling nature of the Conservatives on human rights - all in pursuit of a few cheap votes from pretty horrible,
self-interested haters - we could all take a lesson from this remarkable woman who has faced more than most of us could ever imagine, and still has a belief in
human decency.
The meeting schedule for 2011
One of the strengths of The Greens is
the commitment to "Grassroots Democracy". Keeping with
this belief, our Branch holds open meetings with a focus on what the
group and our friends can do to address problems in the area.
We're holding our meetings for this year at the Liverpool Serviced
Offices at Level 5, 33 Moore St Liverpool on the third Wednesday of each month,
starting at 6:00pm.
You don't need to be a member of the Greens (though of course we hope we
can make it attractive to you to join!) - if you are interested in
doing things to help your fellow residents, come along and see if
our activities fit with your views. Each month we look at the things
that are the best and the worst of our area, and we examine a
different Greens policy so that everyone can make their own minds up
about what we're about, not rely on the lies of our political
opponents to understand our positions.
The dates for our meetings for the year
are shown on the left of screen. If you want to come along, please call 0403 139 825
when you arrive so we can let you into the secure building.
We are continuing a 'fast-decision-making' process, accessible to
our members from the link on the left.
We still need more
helpers to attack the problems in
Fairfield and
Liverpool. We can make a difference if we have the people-power to
do it.
About us
We're currently a very small group
in big area,
but
we're becoming more active and more involved, and we're looking
to
put our vision of a fair, socially-conscious society and
environment
firmly into the public view.
We
can and have been successful in representing the views of our
residents,
but much more needs to be done, and the Greens need
representation
in Government serving this area.
More people need to get involved
with
grass-roots politics in our area. If we don't attract more of
the
passionate, intelligent people we have in Fairfield/Liverpool we
will end
up with more of the same dross from a pretty poor bunch of
politicians.
It's well and truly time to put
forward
viable alternatives to some appalling local MPs and Councillors.
A strong Greens presence will put
additional
pressure on the major parties to be more open and accountable, and
will
protect against the unbelievable arrogance of the current State
and
Local Governments.
Our share of the vote at the last State poll rose in some
parts of the area, despite a limited campaign and being
heavily
smeared by the major Parties. We have a strong base from which
to
grow for the future, and we can and will become more and more
successful by doing the things we do best - stand up for the rights
of those who need it most.
If you are a Facebook user, you can join our online FLG group
here.
Local Group focus
We're attempting to
reach out to
the
local community. We need to establish a strong healthy network
of
contacts to form the foundation on which the the work leading up
to the
next election will be based. The network will have three
tiers:
-
A strong
cooperative
relationship
with other Greens
NSW
branches
(particularly
those that are geographically close to Fairfield/Liverpool
Greens)
so that we can share ideas and engage in joint
activities.
This is important because there are some issues that
geographically
span multiple Greens
NSW
branches
that
should be tackled in a coordinated manner
-
A healthy
participation by Fairfield/Liverpool
Greens
members,
by
making their participation easier and more
fulfilling.
-
A direct
engagement with diverse
sections
of the community, by working with them individually to
determine
policy direction, and rally support for the Greens in
the
population in general.
|
Last Updated:
September 25, 2011
|
 |
 |
|
The people of West Hoxton have been taken for granted for too long.
Read more...
The battle
goes on for noise abatement
along the Casula Rail Corridor. Read
more...
Meet your Local Greens
Bill
Cashman - working to get a better deal for our area Read more...
Signe
Westerberg - working to get a better deal for our area Read more...
Daniel Griffiths
- working to get a better deal for our area Read more...
|
| |
|
We're the generation, We can't afford to wait, The future started yesterday, And we're already late
~John Legend ("If you're out there")
The Greens will continue to champion a fairer
society rather than simply the economy and to champion
the
parliament rather than simply the stock exchange
~Bob
Brown |
|