Sylvia Hale, MLC
The conference will be opened by
Sylvia Hale who is a GREENS Upper House representative in State
parliament.
Sylvia Hale is the Greens’ spokesperson for health, infrastructure
and planning, and local government. She is a longstanding community
activist and campaigner for social justice and the environment.
She has a strong ideological and practical commitment to radical
activism and grassroots democracy.
Her involvement in the campaign to stop the expansion of Sydney
Airport resulted in her election to Marrickville Council in 1995
and again in 1999. She was elected to the NSW Legislative Council
in 2003.
Sylvia has held a variety of jobs, ranging from spot welder to
shop assistant to teaching in the State’s public schools.
But the bulk of her working life has been spent in publishing,
where her main interests have been Australian politics, labour
and local history, women’s studies and Australian literature.
A graduate in Arts and in Law, Sylvia was for five years a member
of a NSW Legal Aid Commission Review Committee.
Arthur Rorris
Arthur Rorris is the secretary for the South Coast
Labour Council.
Mark Flemming
Mark Flemming is president of the
Coastwatchers Association Inc. and Regional Facilitator of the
Total Environment Centre for Illawarra/South Coast.
Howard Jones
Howard Jones is a GREENS Deputy Mayor of Kiama Council.
Allan Rees
Allan Rees is president of No Aircraft Noise.
Alex Peterson
Mr Alex Peterson is a local resident who has
been actively involved with the community concerns since he first
was a community representative on Wollongong Council's Local Environment
Study in 1993.
Saeed Khan, Marrickville Councillor
Saeed Khan was elected as a Greens’ Councillor
at Marrickville council in March 2004. He has been one of the
main activists campaigning against the federal government unfair
laws that protect Sydney Airport from both State and local Planning
Controls.
In August 2004, Saeed revitalized the campaign against the Sydney
Airport expansion. Saeed has been successful in uniting neighbouring
councils in a mayoral campaign against the Airport overdevelopment
and forcing the State Government to challenge Federal Government
planning powers.
John Kaye
John Kaye, teaches and researches Engineering at the University
of NSW, where his focus has been on the electricity industry and
greenhouse gas emissions. John is also an Upper House candidate
for The Greens at the 2007 state election.
Sonya McKay
Sonya Mckay is a Wollongong University graduate
in Arts (psychology and politics) and in law. Her community activism
began in Bankstown due to Bankstown Airport operations impacting
on the local community and continued with the realisation of systematic
flaws regarding the lack of environmental protection for surrounding
residents. Ms McKay subsequently found similar systematic issues
regarding other airports including Wollongong Airport.
Her recent efforts currently focus on the distribution of environmental
and related consultative issues through the development and utilisation
of documentary films at film festivals.
Although Ms McKay has organised numerous public meetings and aided
in organising economic conferences at Wollongong University the
Environmental Conference 2006 is her first independent conference
initiative.
