News in brief

City scraps trigeneration

The City of Sydney has shelved plans to build a trigeneration plant at Green Square. The plan was originally designed to replace centralised electricity generation from burning coal. Liberal Councillor Christine Forster welcomed the City of Sydney’s decision not to proceed with the agreement negotiated last year with Cogent Energy, due to economic and regulatory hurdles. “This was a high-risk, non-core business and should have had no place on Council’s agenda,” said Ms Forster. “There were always too many question marks over the technical and commercial risks involved in retrofitting gas-fired trigeneration.”

Reg Mombassa to shine on New Year’s Eve

Artist and musician Reg Mombassa has been announced as the Creative Ambassador for the 2013 Sydney New Year’s Eve. The Glebe resident, a former guitarist for the band Mental as Anything, will display the 2013 theme, Shine. Mr Mombassa’s illustrations for New Year’s Eve will be on show at landmarks in the city in the lead-up to the event, and will also feature in the much-anticipated and top-secret Bridge Effect, which is only revealed at midnight on December 31. “Reg is one of Australia’s greatest living artists and cultural exports who cleverly combines thoughtful insights with a signature irreverence,” said Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

Clarification – CBD and South-East Light Rail story

Last week, the Alternative Media Group carried a story titled ‘Surry Hills activists deny light rail info’. The story included a quote from NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian: “As is appropriate, Government Information Public Access (GIPA) requests to Transport for NSW are a matter for Transport for NSW”. The quote was construed by the journalist as meaning Ms Berejiklian felt GIPA requests concerning the project were not a matter for People Unite Surry Hills (PUSH). A spokesperson for Ms Berejiklian has sought to clarify that GIPA requests were not a matter for her, and that comment should be sought from Transport for NSW.