MEDIA RELEASE - 8 NOVEMBER 2010

Without even a seconder, former Deputy Lord Mayor Chiang Lim was unable to receive support from his fellow Parramatta Councillors to help save Richie Benaud’s childhood home.

“For Parramatta Councillors to say on the one hand that they want to protect local heritage, then abandon any possibility of saving Richie Benaud’s childhood home when the going gets tough, this is utterly disappointing,” said Clr Lim.

By Josephine Toovey, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 October 2010

Returning planning powers to communities would mean ''more work'' for councils, the Premier said during an attack on the Coalition's election promise to reform the planning system by empowering local government.

Kristina Keneally endured jeers from mayors and councillors during her address to the Local Government Association conference in Albury yesterday as she defended state Labor's resumption of planning powers from councils, in particular Part 3A of the planning rules, which give the government authority to determine all major projects.

MEDIA RELEASE - 18 OCTOBER 2010

Parramatta City Councillors voted 9-to-5 to transfer all existing Places of Worship to the SP1 Special Zone in order to preserve the rights of faith communities, while also achieving harmony in the residential neighbourhoods. This regulatory practice used to exist before the NSW State Government’s current planning template which obliged all NSW local councils to allow Places of Worship in low density neighbourhoods without any limits on their size.

MEDIA RELEASE - 18 OCTOBER 2010

With a vote of 9-to-5, a majority of Parramatta City Councillors voted to ban all brothels and sex related services as an acceptable land use, making Parramatta the first community in the State of New South Wales to defy the NSW State Government’s planning requirements.

Under the NSW Government’s new planning regulations template imposed on all NSW local Councils, all NSW local councils are required to include brothels and sex related services in their local planning regulations.

By Brendan Hills, Sunday Telegraph, 3 October 2010

PARRAMATTA could be the first city in [NSW] to build recharge stations for electric-powered cars.
Deputy Lord Mayor Chiang Lim is working with the electric vehicle company Better Place Australia to discuss the possibility of introducing the technology over the next two years.