Marrickville's birds

“Personally I don’t have a problem with the birds. It’s nice to have a bit of fuckin wildlife about the place,” Ewart St Resident, Keith

So residents of Marrickville have a problem with the ibis.

ibis is a native wetland bird and is a protected species under the
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act.

“Marrickville Council recognises that the ibis population has caused issues for some residents, but we have to consideration that the ibis is a protected species. This species is under enormous pressure due to the drought in inland NSW and in recent years has moved to urban areas such as Marrickville to breed,’ Marrickville Mayor Morris Hanna said.

As such the council is putting together an Ibis Management Plan. The plan will look at ways that will allow the ibis to breed while minimising any impact on residents.

The birds must have really pissed off some of my residents. Yesterday when checking my mailbox there was a sign stuck on the brick wall advising us of a ‘residents meeting’ about the ibis problem on the 15 September

“Personally I don’t have a problem with the birds. It’s nice to have a bit of fuckin wildlife about the place,” my neighbour Keith told me yesterday. Standing in our car park we discussed other birds we have seen in the area including pelicans along the Cook’s River and a kookaburra who from time-to-time sings a little tune from the lampposts near our building.

Keith is right; it’s nice to have some birds flying about the place, crows on the other hand…

Grassroots activists

Last Thursday night, one thousand meetings were held in livings rooms across Australia to discuss climate change. I was part of one of those meetings.

As part of the non-party aligned GetUp group, this GetTogether was about climate change. Our agenda was to create awareness about this issue at a local level. Our group of nine had to come up with a climate change action and make sure it was covered in the local newspaper. With one GetTogether already taking place in Dulwich Hill and one held in Petersham our targeted paper was The Cooks River Valley Times.

Over homemade Tzatziki and a bowls of Twisties we brainstormed ideas. We came up with a simple idea that included Mick Mazza’s bicycle store and a plasma TV. This was not an extreme action. But then again, we are not extremists. We are just ordinary people needing a voice on issues in an era where mainstream political parties are too preoccupied with wedge politics. With one hundred and eighty thousand people already registered with GetUp, this makes us larger than the membership of the Labor and Liberal Party combined.

Forget Parliament and branch stacking. Real political change will be coming to a livingroom near you..

Who exactly is responsible for enforcing water restrictions?

This water was allowed to go down the drane for 2.5 hours and Marrickville Council can't do a thing about it.

It was a question that needed to be answered on Sunday night. My mate Sam and I were enjoying gin and vodka martinis before our favourite show Ugly Betty. Sitting on Sam’s balcony we couldn’t help notice the sound of dripping water.

On closer inspection one of the balcony’s in the unit opposite Sam had water dripping down. It was a constant flow of water, which lasted for nearly two hours.

We decided to call the friendly constables at Marrickville Police. They directed my complaint to an emergency number with Marrickville Council.

When I called the Council they said it wasn’t a Council issue and told me to call Sydney Water.

Sydney Water told me that as the water was coming from a private residence, they had no authority to act. So in the end, the leaking tap from the balcony was allowed to flow.

No one, not the Council or the water utility had any authority to act. Marrickville Council runs a very intensive environmental and sustainability campaign.

Only a few weeks ago I was at its sustainability festival. All residents are encouraged to adopt sustainable environmental practices including the efficient use of water.

Yet a local resident was allowed to let their water run literally down the drain.

Can anyone police water wastage? Does anyone know?

Sustainable Festival

This poor bugger might have copped it but at least we all got to spend the day in workshops.


It was also bloody hot and it took 10 hours to get a damn lemonade. But that didn’t really matter. We weren’t there for the bevvies, we were there to learn about sustainable living.














The Cook’s River Festival at Steel Park included ‘live entertainment, stalls crammed with information on water recycling, natural cleaning and backyard diversity. There were also workshops to explore this information in-depth.

One of the highlight’s for me was meeting up a ‘cultural consultant’ at the Sustainable Artists Gallery. My sister is a theatre maker and we were thrilled to learn that the Council will be conducting focus groups with local artists to get an idea about what they want to happen in Marrickville. In the age of interest rates, sport and John Howard, it seems grassroot support will be the only lifeline for many artists. Here’s hoping we get some results.















Mr Percival works the crowd


The other highlight for me was getting in touch with the bicycle groups. In particular the Green Way group. I’m going to register for a ‘free’ bicycle skills course. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Turning off the lights

On Saturday 31 April we observed Earth Hour. We were required to turn off the lights from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. As such, I decided to have a little candle lit dinner party. In fact I had my lights off till midnight.

In the end, I don't think I made much difference to minimising carbon emissions. I suspect my 2 hour slow roasted lamb and use of the dishwasher offset my original noble intentions.

It was great to see that most of my neighbours had their rooms lit up in candles.

Happy Earth Hour Marrickville