Mayor4Unley

Unley Council always hosts a great citizenship ceremony on Australia Day. It's hugely popular and regulars come for the free food and drinks, a day out and to mingle with the new citizens. I know a couple of residents who go to every one, to enjoy the ceremony (and the food). This year one of the speakers was Shaun Osborn, the Liberal candidate for the Federal seat of Adelaide. He delivered a speech of welcome to the new citizens. In Unley, Shaun was in his element; he knows that in Unley he will get a swag of votes in the upcoming Federal election. It's further north in his electorate where Labor votes increase where he needs to be more active and hopeful. Anyway, the opportunity to speak at Unley will boost his confidence as he travels north. Whatever their political persuasion, it is good to see and hear politicians and wannabees deliver an Australia Day speech. Some are woeful (and tired after delivering the same speech the year before); some are just average; and som

Joy at picking my first chillies of the season. Picked just before the extreme heat. My fav. Yellow and very hot - a nice intense burn ;) Added some finely cut to a crab and prawn spaghetti marinara. The other chilli bushes are coming on nicely. Tip: when using chilli: add dried and flake chilli when cooking add fresh chilli to salads and on top of cooked food

Last night, in the early evening (@6:45pm) an Unley Councillor tripped on the footpath in Arthur Street and fell into the gutter. He was on the way home (at such an early hour?) from the Unley's TDU street party. He awoke in the gutter with many faces peering at him and people fussing about whilst awaiting the ambulance. With flashing lights and and a siren, he was rushed to the RAH. Fortunately he is ok, but very sore and bruised; and a severely bruised ego. I have recommended rubbing Goanna Oil into the swollen arms and legs; twice a day. Works a treat! I recommend it for most ailments. This section of paving is not the best and it was on my to-do list to fix. I am sure that given the fall of a councillor it will now be given prompt attention. This footpath should probably be concreted (replacing the uneven brick paving) given the high volume of pedestrian traffic.

The idea of trams on Unley Road has been proposed (again) by Federal Labor. I'm a keen advocate of extending the tram network, but Unley Road is too narrow; far too narrow and it carries a huge volume of commuter traffic. Commuter traffic would be slowed to a crawl, parking would be cut and local businesses would be impacted. I propose use of electric buses (aka. trackless trams; what really is the difference?) and a more frequent service. With a more efficient public transport service we can get more bums on seats and achieve less dependence on driving cars through Mitcham and Unley to the Adelaide CBD. It's time for the State Government to really overhaul our public transport. As the Unley tram proposal gets on track (depending on the outcome of the Federal election) it will be interesting to see the stance of Unley Council. Will the mayor's publicly stated support for trams on Unley Road influence the decision of Council? I say, push for electric buses a

We all make New Year resolutions. Don't we? And how many do we achieve? Do they last more than a week or two? Real resolutions need hard work (and resolution) throughout the year and beyond. The tip is to be careful about the resolutions we make.

It’s just so sad that the Chinese made Huawei IT equipment is controlling so much of the critical and sensitive infrastructure across Australia (The Advertiser, 27 December). Our cyber security has potentially been compromised. Our data and Government data stored in the Cloud, our health records, transport and utility information and most telecommunication data are all potentially at risk. There should be a total ban on using Huawei equipment whilst the Chinese Government  has a right to access all data. We’ve had our head in the sand on this issue all for the sake of saving 10-15% by buying Chinese IT equipment. Given the growing power and presence of the Chinese Government in our region, we can’t afford to be offering weak links and ease of a cyber attack on Australia. It’s not a nightmarish scenario; it’s a reality. The risk must be addressed.