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ROD QUANTOCK'S NEW ONE MAN SHOW "COURT IN THE ACT" (A tense courtroom comedy)

Where: Old Magistrates Court, Corner of Russel and La Trobe Streets
When: 8pm Wednesday to Saturday from 7 February to 3 March 2007

Tickets: $35 and $25 concession. Special price $20 on Wednesday 7 February and Thursday 8 February (No show on 28 February) Ticketmaster: 1300 660 013 or at the door. Note : Rod is PPL VIC Vice President and Deputy Convenor of the Royal Park Protection Group. Some of us are going to the show on Wednesday 7 February. Why not come along on this night?

Details:

The case of 'The Crown v Someone in the Audience' - and that someone could be you because in this tense courtroom comedy the audience play the parts.
You could find yourself being the judge, sitting where Sir Redmond Barry sat when he sentenced Ned Kelly to hang. You might be on the jury or called as a witness by someone who is being a barrister for the night.
Or you could be the accused! Accused of what? That's a surprise. Whatever part you play the magisterial Rod Quantock will be coaching and coaxing and conducting the legal proceedings

III PROTECTORS OF PUBLIC LANDS VICTORIA INC AGM 2007

Time: 1:45 pm for a 2 pm start.

Date: Saturday 10 February 2007

Venue: Meeting Room 1 (Upstairs) North Melbourne Library, 66 Errol Street, North Melbourne (Several buildings along from the corner of Queensbury Street next to the Town Hall and Post Office.) Parking available in nearby streets. North Melbourne trams up Elizabeth Street from Flinders Street.

Guest speaker: Kenneth Davidson, senior financial columnist for The Age newspaper on the future directions for Victoria under the re-elected Bracks Government.

Open Mike: Reports by member groups on the year that was - 2006

Nomination Form for Committee: See attached. Please return ASAP by email or to PO address.

Contact: Julianne Bell, Secretary, Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc., PO Box 197, Parkville 3052 jbell5@bigpond.com Phone 98184114 or 0408022408

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PAST EVENTS

OPEN DAY AT THE GAMES VILLAGE, PARKVILLE SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 2005

The Bracks Government threw open the Games Village (in reality the Australand and Citta Property Group real estate development - "The Parkville Gardens" being used for the duration of the Games for athletes accommodation). PPL VIC members were warned - prepare to be depressed if you pay a visit. This is Singapore come to the Melbourne - high density and little open space (shrunk from the original 5 hectares to 1.8 hectares). Yet to be built is the apartment wall of 700 units along the Freeway/Citilink, which will include two 9-storey tower blocks plus one 11-storey block. Most of us remember this site as part of Royal Park with nearly 2,000 mature trees, a wildlife habitat, and extensive lawns around the heritage buildings. The tree cover is all now gone - axed and mulched - save for about 15 trees on the 20-hectare site. While the heritage buildings have been well renovated, they are now surrounded and swamped by wall-to-wall housing possibly only 15 metres away (not 50 as recommended by the National Trust). Their original setting was sweeping lawns and gardens should have been set in extensive lawns and gardens.

The Open Day at the Village was a conspicuous failure. The No 55 Coburg tram line was the closest public transport (nearly a kilometer away) and there was no parking within al kilometers. All the houses and units plus demountable huts were blocked off behind wire fences. The excuse was that the houses were not finished but in reality it could have been security concerns. Members of the public were very having to walk so far to the Village site.

Julianne Bell, Convenor, Royal Park Protection Group and Kevin Chamberlin, President, Protectors of Public Lands Victoria, were interviewed on the site by Channel 7 and photographed by The Australian.

PROTECTORS OF PUBLIC LANDS VICTORIA AGM 2005 10 SATURDAY DECEMBER 2005

PPL VIC held our first Annual General meeting at 11 am on Saturday 10 December 2005 at Trades Hall in Carlton. Note RPPG is a member . Our guest speaker was Brian Walters an eminent barrister, President of Civil Liberties Victoria and prominent Greens' leader. He spoke on the "Sedition and the new Federal Government laws." A premier of film "Trial by dredging: The Channel Deepening of Port Phillip Bay" was shown by filmmakers Sheila Newman and Jill Quirk.

SAYING NO TO COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION OF MELBOURNE'S PARKS

Last Tuesday 30 November 2005 the City of Melbourne's Planning and Environment Committee voted on a resolution put up by "Green" Councillor Fraser Brindley to ask Planning Minister Hulls to remove third party appeal rights for planning permit applications for events in public parks. The removal of the right to object and appeal at VCAT is undemocratic and opens the way for increased commercial exploitation of our parks and gardens. It also means that our parks and gardens will be in danger of extensive damage and destruction from big events, such as is witnessed annually in the Carlton Gardens inflicted by the Flower and Garden Show.

As you may know the he issue has come up with the application by The Big Day Out to hold the event in Princes Park in January 2006. Planning Minister Hulls recently amended the planning scheme to permit The Big Day Out to be staged in the Park. While we have no objection to this event we are concerned that the Park will be trashed in the process of allowing an event with 46,000 patrons, with massive infrastructure and security fencing erected in the Park, with predicted traffic congestion and impact on residential amenity (excessive noise, lights, parked out residential streets and traffic jams)

See the article on Wednesday 7 December 2005 in the Melbourne Times on this general subject of commercial exploitation of parks. See the Age feature by Royce Millar on Friday 2 December 2005 on the demise of parkland.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ROYAL PARK PROTECTION GROUP (RPPG) GIVEN AT THE AGM ON 17 NOVEMBER 2005

Royal Park Hospital heritage buildings now encircled by "Parkville Gardens" real estate development to be used as 2006 Games Village.

See Photos March 2005

Destruction of key heritage buildings of Royal Park Hospital for Games Village April 2005

See Photos April 2005

For news see RPPG News Bulletin December 2004 See link below also.

For a summary of events in 2004 see the Convenor's Annual Report for 2004 presented at the AGM on 2 December 2004.

ROYAL PARK HOSPITAL HERITAGE SAVED

On Tuesday 18 June 2004 the Heritage Council announced the good news that a decision had been made to confirm the provisional determination that the Royal Park Hospital had been included on the State Heritage Register despite the opposition of the Government and the developers Australand and the citta Property Group. The bad news was that the Display Village, built within the heritage precinct bang up against the façade of the buildings in defiance of the Heritage Council's provisional ruling, will stay. This was ameliorated slightly by the fact that road through the precinct was not approved which means that the curtilage round the heritage buildings has been increased slightly. See our media release of 17 June 2004.

ROYAL PARK HERITAGE HEARING 20 MAY 2004

On Thursday 20 May 2004 the Heritage Council started hearing the case of the Royal Park Protection Group and the National Trust versus the Bracks Government (Major Projects Victoria) and the Village Park Consortium (Australand and the Citta Property Group) as to whether the Royal Park Hospital Heritage Precinct should be included on the Victorian Heritage Register. The complex of heritage buildings and surrounds are threatened by the construction of the Games Village (read private real estate development) on the Royal Park Hospital site. Already the developer has built a road and display houses within the heritage precinct. See photos below and latest newsletter for May 2004.

The Royal Park Protection Group team of a barrister, heritage experts and an historian specializing in Victorian psychiatric history gave excellent presentations. A further day was scheduled for the hearing on 3 June 2004 as the Government had not presented its case. For some unknown reason the Government declined to make a final submission. Keep watching this space for the next moves made by the Government, the Heritage Council and RPPG in the still unfinished battle over the Royal Park Hospital heritage and what happens over construction of the Games Village.

RPPG latest newsletter May 2004 - read about our last ditch stand in the battle to save Royal Park Hospital Heritage Precinct

CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS

CONSTRUCTION OF MONSTER PRIVATE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT GETS GOING ON ROYAL PARK "GAMES VILLAGE" SITE

The huge property development of 1,000 units/dwellings being built by the Village Park Consortium (Australand - Citta Property Group) on the 20 hectares of grounds of the former Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital site in Parkville is masquerading as the 2006 Commonwealth Games Village. Below is the progress of the construction which has involved to date clearing the site of 2,000 trees so that it is now a giant dust bowl and demolishing and degrading the complex of heritage buildings . Here is what's happened over the past three months mid January 2004 to mid April 2004:

We reported (see below on the web) that, following the appeal by RPPG, the National Trust and the City of Melbourne, an earlier decision was overturned and a "provisional determination" was made by the Heritage Council of Victoria on 18 December 2003 to include the former Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital Heritage Precinct on the State Heritage Register. ( This would give it protection from further demolition and from inappropriate development on the site.) Despite protestations by the Games Minister Madden that he welcomed this decision and despite his assurances to the Electrical Trades Union that the Government would not oppose the listing, sure enough the Minister is challenging the determination at the final hearing by the Heritage Council on 20 May 2004.

Meantime, even before the final hearing of the Heritage Council and with the Minister's approval, the developer is building a road through the heritage precinct and has started construction of the "Display Village" i.e. seven display houses, a "sales facility" office and a visitor's carpark - all bang up against the heritage buildings. The road and houses are only 15 metres away from the Heritage houses not 50 metres as prescribed by the Heritage Council. The complex was supposed to have been surrounded by parkland and gardens. The developer will build, if left unchecked, "intense infill" units in between the heritage buildings. Heritage walkways linking the buildings have already been demolished. The whole complex will be overshadowed by an immense apartment wall of 700 units along the freeway and in particular - right near the heritage buildings - one of the three eleven storey tower blocks which were approved at the last minute by the Minister but never mentioned to the community.

RPPG members have laboured, in a voluntary capacity and largely unthanked, for hundreds of hours over submissions to save what is left of our precious heritage buildings from this overseas developer and the Government who are in a "public-private partnership" deal over the Royal Park Games Village/property development. We would appreciate donations to help us fight the case as we may need legal assistance to continue. Cheques can be made out to the "Royal Park Protection Group" and sent to the above address.

D - DAY COMMUNITY PICKET LINE AND PROTEST AT ROYAL PARK "GAMES VILLAGE" SITE - 12 JANUARY 2004

On Monday 12 January 2004 around 50 RPPG members, friends of Royal Park, Brunswick and Parkville residents, plus groups who have signed onto the new parks coalition - "Protectors of Public Lands" picketed the Royal Park Hospital site - the "Games Villa" i.e. the Australand - Citta Property Group property development.

This was the first day of construction after the site was handed over to the developer and after workers came back from the Christmas New Year break. The picket commenced at 7 am and was attended by all TV stations and the print media. Trucks arriving early at the Park Street picket were turned away and also later in the morning at the Oak Street entrance where a second picket had been established.

Speakers at the gathering included Julianne Bell RPPG Convenor, Rod Quantock, RPPG Deputy Convenor and Melbourne City Councillor Kevin Chamberlin who all condemned the land grab of 20 hectares of inner city parkland by an overseas property developer, the axing of 2,000 trees and the demolition and degradation of heritage buildings.

Picketers turned away two semi trailers at the Oak Street entrance.. The police did not attempt to clear the picket. They should be commended for their softly-softly approach (The media presence might have been a deterrent of course.) Workers closed the gates at around 10:30 am. The site is 1.5 km. in perimeter and therefore is difficult to maintain surveillance. Work was proceeding on the site, however, to mulch the rest of the 1,000 trees chopped down on 18 December.2003.

RPPG thanks our picketers for their support. We have not given up but will continue with more pickets and actions so stay tuned. Supporters are asked to make sure your membership is up to date so we can make rapid contact.. See our membership application/renewal form on the web. The RPPG protest and picket line had excellent media coverage; although media outlets were obviously disappointed there were no confrontations with police with protestors being dragged away. Coverage included ABC Radio 774 and ABC Radio News, 3 AW and 3AK news bulletins during the morning. Also Channels 7, 9 and 10 on the evening news. Channel 2 obviously chose to leave the bulletin and interviews with picketers off the news. Also the Age did not chose to cover the picket and the Herald Sun had only a paragraph.

On Thursday 18 December 2003 "Axe Thursday" over 1,000 trees were axed on Royal Park Hospital site for the "Games Village" (an excuse for a property development). (About nine hundred trees had already been felled when asbestos and other toxic material was removed from the site). The next day the workers went on holiday leaving piles of felled trees. The RSPCA was not called in to rescue maimed and injured birds and animals, which could not have escaped the slaughter.

ROYAL PARK HOSPITAL HERITAGE PRECINCT INCLUDED ON STATE HERITAGE REGISTER - 18 DECEMBER 2003

On Thursday 18 December 2003 (the same day as the 1,000 tree massacre) as a result of an appeal by the Royal Park Protection Group, The National Trust and the City of Melbourne, the Heritage Council announced that it had overturned an earlier decision by the Director of Heritage Victoria and had made a provisional decision to include the whole heritage precinct of the Royal Park Hospital (the nine buildings remaining after the Minister authorised the demolition of four) on the State Heritage Register. Minister Madden actually put out a press release supporting this decision. The battle is not entirely over as the decision is subject to appeal within 60 days.

Late on Friday 24 October 2003 Games Minister Madden authorised the demolition of four buildings on the Royal Park Hospital, including a key building that contained the offices and laboratory of Dr John Cade, world famous psychiatrist who discovered therapeutic uses of lithium for bi- polar disorder (manic depression). Minister Madden took this action despite the fact there was an appeal hearing pending on the heritage buildings. (See below).

RESULTS OF PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON "GAMES VILLAGE" AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANS

The Commonwealth Games Planning Advisory Committee (Games Village) (PAC) conducted hearings on the plans for the "Games Village" i.e. the private real estate development from 16 May through to 13 June 2003. (See comment our media releases). RPPG committee members attended this 4-week marathon and RPPG made a submission on Tuesday 27 May 2003.

The PAC spent four weeks on refining the plans for a private real estate subdivision. This is at enormous public expense and is a major scandal. Little time was devoted to the question of the construction, the plans and the operation of the Village for the Games although the PAC was purportedly meeting for this purpose. The Committee reported to Minister Madden on 30 June 2003.

Tuesday 5 August 2003 was a dark day for Royal Park and, indeed, for the inner northern suburbs when Games Minister Madden announced plans for the so-called Games Village. This is, as we all know, the excuse for a real estate development the size of a new suburb. Our worst fears were realised.

The Minister accepted a swag of the recommendations of the Planning Advisory Committee and added a few of his own that had not been discussed or even raised during the month long deliberations of his Committee. For example, the height of three tower blocks on the apartment wall along the freeway is to be increased to 11 storeys. The very worst features of the various plans presented to the hearings were retained for "The Village Park" - this mega real estate development.

These features include: greater density of development; reduced open space (see below also); three 11 storey tower blocks on the freeway wall of apartments (increased from 9 storeys) which will overshadow and overlook surrounding suburbs, the site itself and nearby Royal Park, including the wetlands. These towers will be visually intrusive blots on the landscape and block the magnificent views from Royal Park across to Mt. Macedon. In addition, the plans adopted spell the certain degradation and destruction of the heritage precinct with demolition of the central building; infill housing to be interspersed between the buildings; and no space or landscaping left around the precinct buildings. The 100-bed aged care facility is now to be located on Park Street and a new road will be built through to Brunswick Road. Government promises to provide public transport to connect this inaccessible and isolated site with other suburbs and the city have been taken with a grain of salt. This settlement will be entirely car based and hence a major contributor to future increased traffic chaos and gridlock in the northern suburbs.


Games Village site - Photos courtesy Victoria Police Taken from helicopter January & April 2004 (Click on images to enlarge)

Registration No A0035478L

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