I wasn't sure if I was going to write this, but here goes.
Yesterday, Greyhound Racing NSW locked their staff out of the Greyhounds as Pets Wyee facility and made the entire facility redundant. The staff there, while they worked for a disgusting organisation, demonstrated real care for each and every single dog that came through their doors, and my wife and I are lucky to have adopted our beautiful Waffle and Tim Tam from them.
GRNSW yesterday released a statement where CEO Robert Macauley spoke about the collapsing wagering post-COVID. The statement also mentioned that all rehoming and welfare activities are "fully funded".
Fully funded I guess after quietly making around 60 redundancies across the Wyee facility and GAP head office.
The Wyee shelter is to be outsourced to a private company which will now handle GRNSW's export business sending discarded Hounds to the USA in the hopes of a better life. There are more strict criteria on what dogs can be sent to the US - off the top of my head I believe they need to be under five years old and have no medical conditions.
After the Baird-era attempt to ban Greyhound Racing in NSW, the industry talked big about wanting to clean up its act. It seems when the going gets tough, they've opted to act in bad faith towards dedicated, hard working staff, and reduce their capability as an organisation to deal with the abandoned, abused dogs which are the EXPECTATION, NOT THE EXCEPTION.
Greyhound Racing needs to end in NSW. The industry has demonstrated that it can't be trusted to the right thing by their animals.
Ray Hadley also did a bit on this today. While I wouldn't normally recommend a sane person to listen to him, he's fired up about what's happened at GAP.
“We will not be intimidated, especially when we are trying to stop a genocide,” he told the house.
“Any time police officers resort to the use of force against non-violent protesters, they violate these principles and undermine the consent and respect necessary for the police to do their job.”
NSW’s arts minister, John Graham, says a Sydney council has sent a “terrible message” by voting to ban same-sex parenting books, importing a “US culture war into our country”.
In case you missed it: Cumberland city council voted to place a blanket ban on same-sex parenting books from local libraries. Labor councillor Mohamad Hussein voted in favour of the motion, which passed six to five.
Speaking to ABC RN earlier this morning, Graham said he had not spoken to the councillors directly but understood there would likely be another vote next Wednesday.
“That’s a good thing. I think it’s a chance for the council to reconsider.”
He said the council’s decision to ban same-sex parenting books is in breach of guidelines that apply to public libraries across NSW, stating they should be “an unbiased source of information and ideas”. Abiding by this is a condition for funding, Graham said.
The minister said he has read the book which sparked the ban – which is a “simple story [showing] that families come in all shapes and sizes”.
“It’s a terrible message to send, to have this councillor importing this US culture war into our country and playing it out on the shelves of the local library. I think the community expectations are clear – the local councillors should be coming around to pick up their bin, not telling them what to read.”
Hornsby is the fifth best place to live in Australia, apparently.
At least, according to a study SGS Economics and Planning:
"Sydney's Northern beaches ranks as the highest in the nation for wellbeing, with only one Queensland city making it to the top 10, the annual index revealed today.
"The Australian Capital Territory came in second due to its low gender wage gaps, climate change risks and the division of wealth."
The study assessed 518 local council areas on seven indicators:
Looks like Sydney Trains is going to drop the jargon from its PA announcements.
From the SMH:
"Commuters will soon be told to “get off” the train, rather than “alight”, after Sydney Trains resolved to overhaul its station announcements to favour colloquial language.
"The phrase “this train terminates here” is also being retired, due to concerns the word “terminates” is difficult to understand."
Environmentally sustainable plant-based dishes in restaurants and cafes?
"Occasionally ordering a plant-based meal instead of a meat dish can greatly reduce the environmental footprint of the global food system. Animal agriculture accounts for 56% of food-related greenhouse gas emissions but produces only 18% of calories and 37% of protein."
"This means a family of four ordering plant-based meat burgers instead of beef patties saves carbon emissions equal to driving from Brisbane to the Gold Coast."
Six people have been killed and numerous others injured, including some in critical condition, after a man went on a stabbing spree at a Westfield shopping centre in the Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction. The attacker was shot dead after being chased by a lone police officer who was on duty on an unrelated matter....
Not again! BoM issues Flood warning for Qld and NSW.
"A major rain event will engulf most of eastern Australia during the next 48 hours, prompting the Bureau of Meteorology to issue flood watches from southern Queensland to the NSW South Coast.
"Greater Sydney could be soaked by up to 200mm from late Thursday to early Saturday, potentially leading to major flooding along the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, while Brisbane and Canberra also face the prospect of heavy rain."
Did you know that #SharkCulling programs in #NSW and #Queensland have never been assessed under our national environment laws ?
That’s despite the fact that #nets and lethal drumlines in NSW and QLD have caught 174 #CriticallyEndangered grey nurse #sharks in the past decade, killing 70. Over the same time, a massive 538 threatened marine #turtles were also caught across both states, with at least 183 killed.
Tell the Federal Environment Minister it’s time for change.
For the first time in over 20 years, national #EnvironmentalLaws are being rewritten. Tell Federal Environment Minister, #TanyaPlibersek that you want her to require the #NSW and #Queensland shark culling programs to be subject to national environment laws.
Instead of ads for modern products, the billboards are all old 20th century advertisements. Some, for businesses that no longer exist, such as Mark Foy's department store.
The lost art of hand-written public transport signs
From an exhibition at the Sydney Bus Museum:
"Sign writing was once an important trade. The signs needed to direct bus traffic and provide timetable and destination information for Sydney's bus network were formerly painted by hand at Randwick Depot.
"Many of those employed to do this work considered it to be their job for life. Their skill is evident, but it was time consuming and expensive to produce signs this way, and by the 1980s the writing was on the wall for this trade.
"Various printing techniques have replaced the hand painted sign in almost all situations in the bus and transport industry, but if you look around the museum, you will see many examples of their craft."
"Former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has called for negative gearing reforms to be put back on the table as part of a wider debate about how tax reform could address housing affordability."
...
“The society today is very different than it was 100 years ago, and the tax system that’s in place today is still reminiscent of that,” he said. “It should be changed in such a way that drives opportunity, and things like negative gearing should be looked at. It could drive supply.
“I’m not advocating one way or another [on negative gearing]. But I’m saying it’s good government to go looking at this issue holistically. Should put everything on the table."
See, here's why I think the Parramatta light rail should be extended from Sydney Olympic Park to Strathfield.
It's not just that it would allow it to connect directly to many of the train lines serving the western and northern suburbs, including the T1, T2, T3, and T9. Or intercity trains to the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Newcastle.
It's not just that Strathfield is a major bus hub with many services across the western suburbs.
It's not just that DFO Homebush (between Strathfield and Olympic Park) is a busy shopping centre that generates a lot of traffic.
No, the big reason I say it's a good idea is because these photos were taken on the 526 bus, between Strathfield and Olympic Park, on a Sunday afternoon.
Sydney stabbing: seven people dead, including attacker shot by police at Bondi Junction shopping centre (www.theguardian.com)
Six people have been killed and numerous others injured, including some in critical condition, after a man went on a stabbing spree at a Westfield shopping centre in the Sydney suburb of Bondi Junction. The attacker was shot dead after being chased by a lone police officer who was on duty on an unrelated matter....