However, he took advice from the experts, and the advice was
that he had little chance of winning. John seems to be more concerned about
raising important issues than winning a seat. If he had run in Heffron he would
have concentrated on affordable housing in Redfern and Waterloo and the excessive powers of the
planning minister. He also mentioned the changes to the NSW licensing laws
which meant that, if a hotel had its poker machine license transferred, that
would lead to the loss of its liquor license. John argued that this is what led
to the closing of the old Redfern Hotel in George Street, Redfern.
One of the issues that he has always been concerned about is
the environment and, of course, climate change, so he’s joined the Climate
Change Coalition for the NSW upper house. “This is where John’s insights and
contributions will be invaluable,” said Patrice Newell, the Leader of the
Climate Change Coalition. Mr McInerney said he wants to see the people of New South Wales have
political leaders who are focused on dealing with climate change in every level
of government. “I am delighted to be running in the March 24 election as a
Climate Change Coalition candidate. Climate change is impacting on every area
of our lives and it’s critical that we have MPs in the New South Wales
Parliament who are focused on good public policy in this area,” he said.
“As a Sydney City Councillor for the past three years, I
have had the opportunity to look at how we must build climate change solutions
into the way we plan and construct our open spaces.”
Ms Newell concluded, “Having John McInerney in the New South
Wales Parliament will mean that governments and policy makers will be forced to
focus on the planning aspects of climate change.”
The Climate Change Coalition was formed to work with any
group, organisation, political party or individual taking action against
climate change. www.climatechangecoalition.com.au
Source: South Sydney Herald March 2007