These are draft plans, however, nothing has been done to limit land and property speculation – Developers are being given free reign by their friends in the Baird Government.

Residents - thank you for giving up your evening to be here tonight and to learn more about the governments plans.

I have made a number of speeches in the Parliament, in the Council Chamber and have made comment in the media about my opposition and concerns, and the Labor Party’s concerns about the Government’s Sydneham to Bankstown draft plans

I also need to disclose that my house, where I live with my husband and our one year old son is in the Dulwich Hill precinct.

So I stand with you not just as your MP and Councillor but also as an effected neighbour.

Residents are rightly concerned about these draft plans.

Tonight Tim has very clearly illustrated how they go too high and reach to reach to far into our suburbs.

This is a one-size fits all plan for development will destroy the very character and scale of our historic neighbourhoods.

But its not just that that concerns me,

To me this plan is all the wrong way around.

The Metro – which is meant to be at the centre of these plans – won’t open for another ten years, however, the rezoning and development will occur at the Minister’s discretion, which is to say as soon as possible.

So the government wants to bring an extra 100,000 people here – then close the train line for up to a year and use replacment bus services through out the inner west.

It makes not sense at all.

It’s all the wrong way around.

So the plan is premature.

It is also deficient.

There is no detail of or any discussion of funding for:

-  any increase in green or open space;

- No plans for active transport corridors;

- No plans for schools

- No plans for child care centres

- No plans hospitals –  or any of the infrastructure that makes our neighbourhoods a community –

What's more there is not quality jobs plan. There are only 9,000 jobs planned for this corridor – 9,000 jobs for 100,000 extra people – compare that to a whopping 49,500 jobs for the North-West Rail Link.  While its probably no surprise this Government is prioritising jobs north of the harbour – its just not good enough.

This is a poorly thought-through plan that will have a disastrous impact on the Inner West, particularly Marrickville and Dulwich Hill.

But for the biggest gaping hole in the draft plan is that there is no talk, no detail, nothing aboutaffordable housing.

We want our community to remain diverse

We all have the right to the sense of well-being that comes from housing security, but for too many people, that security is increasingly out of reach.

Many young people now feel they’ll never own a home;

Families renting in the Inner West are terrified of exorbitant rent increases that could force them to relocate away from their jobs and their kids’ schools and child-care centres;

Understanding these pressures, increasing density and increasing density along public transport corridors is an opportunity to ease housing affordability

We should be levying developers and providing that support community housing providers to build more social and affordable housing that are needed.

We should be considering inclusionary zoning  - it works in cities like London and New York –

But instead this Government is proposing developer driven density that will come at the expense of our beautiful heritage suburbs, the human-scale of our streets and homes and the fabric of our communities.

The Liberal Government is creating a Developer’s Paradise.

These are draft plans, however, nothing has been done to limit land and property speculation – Developers are being given free reign by their friends in the Baird Government.

I’m appalled that developers and their representatives have begun knocking on doors and throwing cards over the fences of local residents.

I’m appalled that the Premier has refused to halt approvals until after theses plans are finalised.

I want to end on with these two important points

It’s critical that residents know they don’t have to sell to developers and I urge anyone who feels intimidated by developers to report incidents to my office.

Secondly – I ask you to make a submission.

I thank the Save Dully Action Group, Save Marrickville Group and thank Marrickville Council for showing leadership and standing up to the Government.

I encourage everyone to make a submission to these Draft Plans and to keep fighting for your communities.