land grab: Sydney takes a page out of our own Indian Book (fearless leaders included)

A new twist on the old land-grab trick

Elizabeth Farrelly
June 21, 2006

WE THE populace must have been out to lunch that week, as our fearless 
leaders sliced 16 hectares of Crown land off the Sydney Common for 
private profit and then, even as drought resumed its death-grip on the 
state, freed apartments from water restrictions. And - here's the genius 
of it - they sold it all as public interest.

The Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Amendment Bill whizzed through both 
houses of Parliament on June 7. It was bucketing down at the time, so we 
could hardly be expected to notice. The bill - now act - enables 
commercial development on that 16 hectares of Governor Macquarie's old 
Sydney Common known as the SCG, which also includes Aussie Stadium.

Back in 1811, Sydney Common, including the now Centennial Parklands, 
covered 1000 acres (450 hectares). By June 6 this year, after two 
centuries of whittling down for tollways and supacentres, something less 
than half of the original bequest remained publicly accessible. Now, 
that remnant is 16 hectares smaller still.

The new act effectively rezones the entire SCG area as development-capable.

cont'd...
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/a-new-twist-on-the-old-landgrab-trick/2006/06/20/1150701551302.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1