Mayor4Unley

Premier Marshall must act now to end the destabilising saga of MP Sam Duluk. It’s unlikely that Mr Duluk will be re-elected at the next election. He needs to be encouraged to resign for the good of the party and the Parliament. Suggestions that he be moved sideways to sit as an Independent are stupid. He has blown any future career in politics. I urge Premier Marshall to act now. He should no longer stand behind his errant Liberal MP.

This morning ... just so sad to see a magnificent big tree cut down in Unley - next to the tram line, corner of Norman Terrace and Fourth Avenue in Everard Park. A gathering of residents protested the removal. I asked the tree feller (the guy with the chainsaw) why it was being removed. His reply was that it was dead. 'Just dead branches Mate'. Yet around the stump there was healthy green growth and shoots. And it was healthy last year. This tree does lose its leaves. None of the nearby residents knew of the planned removal. They just came out at the sound of a chainsaw. On whose land was it? DPTI or Unley Council - always hard to tell around rail corridors. A loss of another big Unley tree, probably to be replaced by a shrub. Surely residents must be informed and consulted prior to tree removals. I suspect that it was a DPTI removal. Just sad.

Unley Council zoned the property opposite the Cremorne Hotel as 5 storey. I would have preferred 3-4 storey to protect the heritage and character . Yet the State Government (both Labor and Liberal) approved 7 storey developments. Vote for a Mayor to fight these horror high rises. VOTE 1 BOB SCHNELL #Mayor4Unley Vote to protect the character of our city. Don’t waste your vote! image sourced from Facebook written and authorised by bob schnell 10 halmon avenue everard park 5035 #concretejungle #highrises #crowding #keepunleygreen #keepunleybeautiful #standfortrees #protectandpreserve #heritage #history #Unley #Mayor

At the April Council meeting I moved a motion to end our opposition to the Liberal policy of rate capping. I was disappointed that Council did not have the strategic vision to support the motion. So the Council will continue its public opposition and put at risk a good working relationship with the new Government. At risk will be extra funding for Unley projects. It was just plain crazy. A real lack of strategic vision. Here are notes from what I said at the Council meeting ... Item 1141 This motion is commonsense and practical. Firstly let’s look at page 2 of the Agenda. It states that Council is committed to: Ethical, open honest behaviours Building partnerships The emphasis here is on Building Partnerships. The background provided (in the agenda) clearly states the current situation. It is justification for why this motion must succeed. The State has a new Government that campaigned for rate capping. Like it or not, the Government will purs...

Tonight #Unley Council is holding a workshop to discuss options to promote retention of large and significant trees on private property. This is an issue dear to my heart. It’s sad to see so many large trees being removed across the suburbs. Hopefully some viable options will emerge; options that we can pursue. But, regulation of trees and their removal rests with the SA Government. So, it might be like flogging a dead horse; but we need to try to influence the new Government.

Most of us probably have a reasonable idea of how we will vote in the #SA #Election 2018. However, I'm still agonising over how I will number the voting slip. As a matter of principle I won't be following the voting order recommended by the major parties. I will choose who is best and who is second best etc. in my local seat of #Badcoe. Voting for the Upper House is a totally different ball game. Like many (hopefully most) voters I will probably be voting different to how I vote for my local seat. I will vote for candidates who will make a difference and keep the Government in check; rather than just blindly voting for Labor or Liberal or ... I ask you how many can actually name more than 2 members of the Upper House? #saparli Most of us have no idea of who is Up there; and there are some who wouldn't be there without the blind vote just along party lines. Voting blindly following party lines for the Upper House is not a smart move. Heaven knows who we might be v...

The SA Liberals have announced that they are turning to the far right. That is, Liberal trams will make a right hand turn from King William Street into North Terrace. Labor is maintaining that it will only turn left. If trams do make that right turn then surely (it would be logical) that they should continue on to Norwood; a journey and destination that Steven Marshall doesn’t support. So, why turn right? To go where? Travel 3 stops to the old RAH? David Pisoni (Liberal Unley) has already stated at a public meeting that there will be no tram through Unley. So, where will the Liberal trams go? I suspect that a proposed Liberal tram network will be very similar to the proposed Labor tram network. Let’s face it, there are limited opportunities of where a tram can go. For the record, I support the Liberal plan for trams to make that right hand turn;  despite the huge cost to retro-fit it. It just makes sense. #Unley #saparli

In an earlier blog I had a dig at Liberal candidate Lachlan Clyne about having his election poster up a pole outside his area; on Leader Street, near #GoodyRoad. To be fair ... last night I was on the tram and noticed that Labor candidate Jayne Stinson has a poster on a pole on Goodwood Road, on the north side of the tram line. This is way out of the Badcoe boundary. Note to Jayne: the Badcoe boundary through Unley is the train line 😉 #Unley #Badcoe #saparli

Last night I attended the Unley FOCUS meeting. I was accompanied by Unley Councillors Peter Hughes and Rufus Salaman. All (but one) of the candidates for the SA seat of Unley were there to give a talk and respond to questions. I scored the candidates and rated their worth to represent us in Unley. The candidates ranged from good to bad to absolutely woeful. One was just so bad; with totally outrageous comments; a racist pun didn't go down well. It was a good evening to assess the candidates. It's a pity that the average voter won't get to see their party's candidate in the candid light that we experienced. Three of the candidates did a bit of Council bashing; two quite heavily. They obviously had no idea of where State Government funding (and involvement) ended and Council involvement started; all rather sad. Councillor Salaman asked a couple of heated questions of one of the candidates. I asked the last question of the night viz. "Will you run...

A high speed train service from Mount Barker to Adelaide is emerging as a strong promise in the campaigns for the SA state Election. And so it should be. It's long overdue. There's no point in building satellite cities without provision of decent public transport. Having a bus service is not adequate; especially through the hills. Experts are forecasting an express service of 20 minutes between Mount Barker and Adelaide. What will be required, and there has been no mention, is huge land acquisition along the Belair line, from Adelaide to Belair and then on to Mount Barker. Currently there is is single track to service the Belair route. Work is expected to commence in mid 2019. Or will it? The only way to avoid the huge land acquisition is to build the detour for the freight trains at Murray Bridge and then use the old freight train rail corridor to build new dual rail lines from Adelaide to Mount Barker (and beyond). A tip to Premier-to-be Jay, Nick and St...

A Lefty mate calls me a Conservative. A Conservative mate calls me a Lefty. A Greenie mate believes I'm a Greenie; they really see no other option! I like to hide my true political leanings. They get in the way at times. I don't wear them like a badge on my sleeve; like a bikie. It's my business (to know) without trying to overly influence others. Actually I'm a swinging voter, like I suspect are a significant % of the community. It must be so boring to always wear green themed t-shirts or always be a true blue Liberal or a red Lefty; never able to find good in all the political parties. Imagine going through life, just blindly following the doctrine of the Dear Leader of your political party. As a swinging voter, you get to vote for the best person to represent your local community. Or, if that selection is a bit difficult (and it can be) you get to vote for the party that you believe is best for the state or country; based on policy and past perform...

Today Steven Marshall wrote to me again by email. He never responds to any of my replies, but that's par for the course with most politicians. Anyway, he wrote ... Dear Bob, Today I have launched our First 100 Day Action Agenda. This is exactly how we will implement our Strong Plan for Real Change. It is an ambitious timeline, but we must move rapidly to fix the mess created thanks to 16 years of Labor here in South Australia. You can view our First 100 Day Action Agenda by clicking below: Liberal Strong Plan I have read the 100 day plan and I must say that I was impressed. Very impressed. Impressed that any government could possibly dream of achieving all in the strong plan in just 100 days; that's 100 sleeps. It's highly ambitious and I reckon that it would take 3-4 years to get through the list. It reminds me of Kevin Rudd's big list of what he would deliver; and look what happened. Having SA Best in the shadows (or within Cabinet) will mes...

The election posters are going up. Prime position poles are being seized. The suburbs are starting to look untidy. It always staggers me that wannabe politicians #saparli have to put their heavily digitally altered photos on the poles. Surely a smart voter would follow the news and decide which party and which candidate to vote for. Surely. People are not that dumb that they get influenced by a mug shot on a pole. Surely. Yet, they do it. Why? Because they feel good when they see themselves on a drive past on a campaign run; a spot of door knocking and giving away balloons to kiddies at the supermarket (yuk!). The golden rule is to put up posters in the electorate and not outside the boundary. It confuses the public; or could do; and shows carelessness. Note to Lachlan Clyne (Liberal candidate for Badcoe): mate you've got a few posters up in Leader Street in Pisoni #Unley territory. You may wish to redeploy them back in #Badcoe.

Labor cash keeps pouring into #Badcoe in #Unley; timely just before the SA Election. I'd heard that something was in the wind, but was surprised to learn of the $70,000 given to the Millswood Bowling Club for new toilets. This club is growing in size. It has worked hard over the past few years to get back on track and increase membership. The $70,000 in cash now, not an election promise, will greatly assist the club. Will this generosity translate to votes for #Labor? We will know in a month. #saparli

The State seat of Unley is heating up for one hell of a fight in the upcoming SA Election. It's going to be a fight that Unley has not seen before. Incumbent, Liberal David Pisoni was looking safe, in his very safe seat that he has held for 12 years in opposition. SA Best candidate Anthony Olivier will give the traditional Liberal/Labor polling a solid shake-up. There will be a lot of Liberal money splashed about in Unley to get their message out. Liberal priorities like rate capping and a cycle path to Melbourne will be real election issues. My reflection is that: Rate capping is just a vote grabbing ploy; I mean what voter wouldn't want reduced Council rates? The reality is that rate capping won't actually work. I don't imagine there will be a huge influx of cycling tourists pedalling over from Melbourne. Seriously, this huge spend needs a rethink; it just sounds a bit looney. I won't give my forecast or reflect on my political views, but Unley...

DPTI has just contacted me to advise that over the next 3 nights there will be overhead works at the South Road tram overpass. Throw screens will be installed on the recently fixed cycle/pedestrian bridge. I hope that the new throw screens don't cause the same problem as last time. I'm sure that the new design has been carefully scrutinised (and certified). Anyway, there will be night works with noise and some traffic diversions over the next 3 nights. The cycle/pedestrian bridge is due to open in ~ 6 weeks. I understand that it will be a grand opening with dignitaries aplenty; more-so with the approaching SA Election. I will be there in lycra to wave the cyclists through.

The Liberals seem hell bent in beating up on the Councils to get voter support at the fast approaching SA election. It's a cheap and easy tactic. However, I fully support David Pisoni's Liberal election commitment to publish all travel expenses incurred by SA Councils. Of course such expenditure should be available for public scrutiny. However, such scrutiny does not not deter State MPs from taking wasteful and costly jaunts overseas. I rarely see real benefit to the State from such trips.

The media is being a bit fanciful of late, building up the high expectations of Nick Xenophon at the next SA State election in March 2018. They now have Nick as possible Premier; if he wins enough seats. The likely outcome is that Nick's SA Best won't field enough candidates to give Nick the numbers to become Premier. Yes, he will win a good handful of seats; but certainly not a bucket-full. Here's a scenario ... What if Labor, Liberal and SA Best each get ~ 1/3 of the seats. It may be that SA Best gets to form a coalition with Labor or Liberal; and with such a deal, maybe Nick would be Premier. A preferable outcome would be Nick getting a handful of the best of Labor (a hard pick) and the best of the Liberals (a harder pick) and getting them to defect from their party and form a Government to truely represent the people. This new coalition Government would have Nick X as Premier, Jay Weatherill as Minister for Energy and Batteries and Steven Marshall as Mi...

I must admit to being surprised that Labor's Jayne Stinson had secured $2.5m to build a new 2 storey grandstand and club facilities @ Goodwood Oval (in Unley and in the electorate of Badcoe, formerly Ashford). Badcoe is a seat that Labor must win to retain Government. It was almost too easy. Normally treasurers put up a harder fight. But when the Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis visited the oval 2 weeks ago in his white car, I knew (in fact I was told) that funding was in the bag; all secured providing Unley Council coughs up another $1m. I had been in deep conversation with Jayne about the urgent need to get new change facilities to cater for the growing number of females in our local cricket and football teams. Everyone else seems to be claiming credit for cracking a deal with Jayne, so I thought I should also lay claim. Whatever, whoever (is not important) - what is important is the outcome. I'm delighted that the SA Government has committed to immediate funding of $2.5...

A rain garden has appeared on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Everard Terrace @ Forestville ... much to the surprise of the locals. An SA Government grant of $6k partially funded the project. 2 street trees were removed as part of the construction. No trees will be planted in the rain garden. It should be 'blooming' by Christmas. There has been a mostly positive reaction by the locals. Residents in nearby streets are considering asking for one in their street.