Pyrmont Labor to Keneally: find Metro alternative
Pyrmont’s Labor loyalists will be hoping to convince newly appointed Premier Kristina Keneally to scrap plans for Union Square to be converted to a Metro station.
Member’s of Pyrmont’s ALP branch met on Monday night to discuss everything from the Emissions Trading Scheme to the State Government’s plan to build a Metro network across Sydney.
Bill d’Anthes, who chaired the meeting, said it would be wise for Premier Keneally to act on the community’s disapproval of the proposal to turn Union Square into Pyrmont’s Metro Station. “This is an area that electorally Labor needs, and we’re hoping to be able to convince her that the station should be moved elsewhere,” Mr d’Anthes said.
“We’d like to meet with her as soon as possible so that we could discuss the placement of the station in Pyrmont and how that’s going to work, because as I said before, we’re not happy.
“We’re also interested, since our last meeting [sic], in the opinions of RailCorp who are very worried about taking up one of the corridors that heavy rail could take as well,” said Mr d’Anthes.
Hannah Lingard, who was was also present at the meeting, said Pyrmont risked losing vital heritage if the Metro project were to go ahead. “It took us five years, back in the 1980’s, to get a heritage listing on the terrace houses in Ultimo. Do you realise and understand that we only have 200 left – and that’s it,” Ms Lingard said.
“For goodness sake, let’s hang on to what we have that is remaining in this peninsula.”
Ultimo resident Connie Peters was hopeful Mrs Keneally would bring unity to a divided Labor Party. “The Premier is on the record for saying that she was going to heal the bridges in the Labor Party and we’re all very strongly behind the need to really improve communication, Federal and State working together,” she said
“We really hope she will be a strong Premier and she will settle some of those dissension that have happened in the past.”
Mr d’Anthes was also optimistic about the newly appointed Premier. “We’d like to congratulate our new Premier. Now we have a woman Premier, a woman Deputy [Premier] and a woman Governor – that’s a first for us,” said Mr d’Anthes.
“We believe this is someone that we could work with the local community.
“We need to concentrate on local issues here and we don’t pull any punches as far as that is concerned. But we’re behind the Premier and we hope she will do what we would like her to do here and for the state
by Ehssan Veiszadeh
