Local Labor representatives meet with Rosebery residents

So many local Rosebery residents came to Turruwul Park today to meet with their local NSW Labor representatives; Tanya Plibersek,  Federal Member for Sydney and Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Linda Scott of the City of Sydney Council, and I. A sausage sizzle organised by Rosebery ALP Branch made it such a great day.

Botany Bay City Council's "thank you" to volunteers

It was a pleasure to join Botany Bay City Council and Michael Daley MP for a morning tea to say thank you to some of our local volunteers. It was a privilege to be amongst these very special people who do so much to assist others in our community.

Launch of Brian Injury Awareness Week at Our Big Kitchen

Rabbi Dovid Slavin, Ron Hoenig MP, Cr Charles Teo AM

I was delighted to attend the launch of Brain Injury Awareness Week 2015 that was launched in NSW jointly by Brain Injury and Our Big Kitchen.

In 2015 the week turns its attentions to a neglected minority of survivors of traumatic brain injury, Particularly women - for whom assault is a much more common cause of brain injury than for men. In Australia, 1 woman is killed by her current or former partner every week.

What happens to those who survive?

The launch heard from Dr Charles Teo AM, neurosurgeon and Director of the Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Price of Wales Hospital, Nick Rushworth, Executive Officer of Brain Injury Australia, Rabbi Dovid Slavin, himself a survivor and Rebecca Sciroli a survivor.

Rebecca such an impressive young lady told of her horrendous attack by her step father with a claw hammer to the head and her long road to survival and her daily fight against spasticity. 

One in three woman who present with head injury in Australia are victims of Domestic Violence. As Dr Teo told the launch; any injury to the brain is never repaired. The brain is the only organ that cannot repair itself. Domestic Violence is just the most insidious form of head injury. Society has been far too slow in addressing this violent and aggressive behaviour in the home. So much of this injury is unreported. Early intervention and access to support services and government funding is urgently required.

Save the Alexandria Hotel - Community claims early victory

I welcome the City of Sydney Council,  this week issuing an Interim Heritage Order for a period of six months, in response to community outrage over the proposal to destroy the Alexandria Hotel.

The Alexandria Hotel is currently under threat from a property developer who plans to demolish the historical building to make way for 28 new apartments, with no provision for parking.

I also thank the hundreds of community members who joined the call for action. 

 Sydney City Council received a Development Application, to demolish the Alexandria Hotel to make way for a four story apartment complex with NO parking provisions in June. 

At the beginning of July, I wrote to each City of Sydney Councillor, including the Lord Mayor, urging Council use their powers under section 25 of the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW) to apply an Interim Heritage Order on site of the Alexandria Hotel. 

I also wrote to Alexandria residents with instructions on how they can make their objections on the DA proposal known to Council. 

The fight to save the Alexandria Hotel is far from over. This is only the first step. An Interim Heritage Order is temporary. It gives Council time to ascertain the true heritage significance of the site, and assess whether the Alexandria should be listed as a heritage item under the relevant Local Environment Plan. The developers have now appealed to the Land and Environment Court. This fight is far from over.

Ron Hoenig Heffron Gazette

Residents will this week receive their copy of the January 2015 edition of my newsletter called the "Ron Hoenig Heffron Gazette". It is available for download here.

Congratulations Anne-Maria Slattery OAM

Presenting the 2015 Heffron Woman of the Year

Congratulations to Anne Slattery, the 2015 Heffron Woman of the year who in the Queens Birthday Honours list has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of Botany Bay, and to social welfare groups. Anne is just a truly remarkable woman. I have set out her tremendous contribution to the community as announced by Government House.

City of Botany Bay:
President, Botany Historical Trust, since late 2012.

St Vincent de Paul Society:
President, South East Sydney Region, since 2012.
President, Daceyville Conference, since 2011; Founding Member, 2009. Reconstituted Daceyville Saint Vincent de Paul Conference.

St Michael's Catholic Church, Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
Sacramental Program Catechist, since 1990.
Scripture Teacher, Daceyville Public School, 2000.
Author, 'The History of Saint Michael's Parish Daceyville 1913-2009', 2010.
Parishioner, since 1940s, and serves as a Reader and Eucharistic Minister.
Former Parish Councillor and represented the Parish on the Archdiocesan Parish Committee, 2000.

Professional:
Teacher, New South Wales Department of Education, approx 40 years (retired). Served as teacher and head teacher at JJ Cahill Memorial High School, Mascot, New South Wales, 'for 33 years'.

St Peters Road Inchange Disaster

The NSW government must now see sense and abandon that absurd proposal to construct the St Peters Road Interchange as part of their WestConnex proposal. As readers of  blog know I have been a ferocious critic of the WestConnex proposal from the time it was announced in 2012. As late as January earlier this year I again my my views known as I do often in parliament. However, the St Peter Road Interchange is really a recipe for a crisis. In January wrote http://ronhoenig.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/stop-six-lane-m5-east-tunnel-destroying.html. Last week I made my views known to the parliament. The video of what I said is at https://youtu.be/JohwHjzxEDQ