Lest we forget

With the going down of the sun two times a day, and in the morning, we will remember them

 

The building on the corner of Elizabeth and Park Streets was approved by the Liberal Party government despite a great deal of understandable opposition before losing power in May 1975. Neville Wran won with an historic victory by one seat with thin margins in two seats. The Wran government cancelled contracts for building overpasses in Darling Harbour which were to be the start of twin freeways across Glebe and the inner west. The Liberal Party government had pressed ahead despite local opposition with the idea that if the start was built the freeways could not be stopped. However it was possible to redirect the freeways to Glebe Island and Victoria Street and Sydney was saved from a catastrophically misconceived road system. Everyone accepts this now.

Now the O'Farrell government has in the State Budget, allocated $34 million to a Project that has only been disclosed as a string of dots on two road maps. All attempts to obtain more information have been rebuffed. Presumably the money will be used for compulsory property acquisitions, as the O'Farrell government intends to hand over the land and exclusive access to George Street to a private company.

This mirrors the actions of the Liberal Party when it was in power for the 10 years from 1965 to 1975. During the period vast areas of inner Sydney were acquired for the ever-changing freeway projects. It was probably inevitable that the Liberal Party would revert to the property-developer dominated Party it was in the 1960s, but the speed at which this has happened is breathtaking.