GREENS - Heffron - Greens announce candidate for Heffron - 24 October 2006

Ben is a founding member and Secretary of resident action group REDWatch and an active campaigner for rights based Aboriginal Reconciliation. He is a founding member of the ReconciliACTION Network which organised the 2005 Freedom Ride commemorating the 40th anniversary of the famous civil rights bus ride led by Dr Charles Perkins around NSW. He has a doctorate in economics and currently works in research and teaching roles at the University of Sydney, Macquarie University and the Edmund Rice Centre.

"I am excited about the opportunity to represent the people of Heffron in the upcoming state election. For too long this community has been treated by the State Government as a transit point between the port and airport in the south and the CBD to the north." Ben said.

"Roads divide our community. Our train stations are either privatised or have steps, making them unaffordable or inaccessible to large parts of the community. Now Port Botany threatens to choke our community with thousands more trucks. We need planning that allows us to live sustainably, not contribute further to climate change.

“We will be campaigning to ensure development retains the diversity of our area, and does not threaten our vibrant public housing, Indigenous and student communities. In particular we support the right of the Aboriginal Housing Company to develop its land on the Block in accordance with normal planning principles, free from state government intervention" said Ben.

"It is vital that the communities of Heffron, not the developers who fund the major parties, make decisions about our area.

"Heffron is a safe seat, meaning its residents are taken for granted. In state parliament and in the community the Greens support community views over developer interests, propose real alternatives to address climate change, and support workers' rights against the Federal Government's unprincipled attack.

“By challenging the Labor Party stranglehold on Heffron we can give the people of Heffron a genuine choice in March."

For more information contact:

Dr Ben Spies-Butcher, Greens candidate for Heffron, on 0414 744 758 or heffron@nsw.greens.org.au

Jenny Leong, Convenor South Sydney Greens, on 0412 145 215 or convenor@ssg.nsw.greens.org.au