[sustran] Don't miss out on getting connected

[Christine Laurence & Peter Wright]

Conference regos are rolling in thick and fast - don't be the one who
misses out on this great milestone in the field of sustainable, community
friendly transport!

Register now! Take a sickie (but don't quote me!), take a flexie, take a
holiday but don't miss out!

Its in just over 10 days time - Friday 17 and Saturday 18 April, at the
incredibly accessible Granville TAFE, only 25 minutes from Central by
train. Its being organised by the Nature Conservation Council's
Smogbusters, Ettinger House and Western Sydney Community Forum.

Get Connected has been organised to recharge enthusiasm, update and reshape
ideas, and enable good working relationships to be formed beteween the
community, local groups, transport providers, professionals, local and
state governments. 

Here are a few highlights from the conference. If you'd like the whole
program, email me and I'll send it as an attachment or fax it to you.
Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be
interested in attending.

I've included an email registatration form at the bottom, and you can pay
at the conference.

Speakers

David Engwicht, citizen activist, author of Traffic Calming and  Towards an
Eco-City: Calming the Traffic. David's lecture tours have been described as
'a joyous celebration of what a city at its best can be' : The problems in
our cities are not caused by cars, bad zoning, engineers, planners, or lack
of planning. They are the result of outdated paradigms. These outdated
'maps' cannot guide us in our attempt to rehumanise our cities.
Participants will dig past the surface issues confronting our cities to
explore what lays below. Please bring your reasoning powers, sense of
humour, and willingness to dig.

Felix Laube, has 15 years experience with public transport worldwide. His
most detailed knowledge originates from the world acclaimed Zurich public
transport system	It will endeavour to work towards ideas which could be
used to  improve the situation in the Sydney metropolitan area.

Tony Harris, NSW Auditor General	The public service suffers a number of
disadvantages in delivering infrastructure arrangements which offer value
for money for NSW residents. They are not, however, inherent, and can be
overcome.

John Smith is Executive Director, Planning, with the NSW Department of
Transport.  He holds a Bsc (Hons) in Social Science and has worked in a
variety of roles in the field of urban management, including transport,
housing and property: How are we working for change, NSW Government
initiatives.

Kendall Banfield has qualifications and experience in environmental
management and town planning. He currently works at the Institute for
Sustainable Futures in Sydney where he was part of a transport costing
project "Which costs more cars or public transport: comparing the economic
performance of buses, trains and cars".

Jane Salmon, wealth of experience in promotions, PR and media work: Getting
your message across - skills and suggestions for local community groups to
better get their message to the people they want to influence.

Paul Mees, President of the Public Tranport  User's Association and
lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Paul has made a detailed study of
the highly aclaimed Toronto transport system: what an integrated transport
system looks like, what the features are and how we can achieve integration.

Tony Mossfield is a social ecologist who lives in Hawkesbury, specialinsing
in regional development, in particular the development of Greater Western
Sydney:  Similarity of European settlement patterns and transport patterns
to Aboriginal settlement patterns and transport routes, subservience of GWS
to Sydney’s needs and GWS transport to Sydney’s transport needs, planning
for future via regional identity.

Les Macdonald currently works with the Uniting Ministry with the Ageing. He
is the former head of the Public Transport Advisory Council, and has worked
in the field of transport for a number of years. This presentation will
look at the benefits of light rail and make suggestions on how this should
be funded. 

Bob Burton has written extensively on greenwashing, the manipulation of
community politics and public opinion to achieve the aims of the corporate
sector in self promotion or undermining legitimate community opposition:
Unmasking the PR Industry: campaigning in an era of counter campaigns.
Public relations is a multi-billion dollar, transnational, propaganda for
hire indusrty. Its sophisticated issues management techniques are
increasingly being used in counter campaigns against social change and
environmental groups.

Vanessa Roberts is a community health worker at Merrylands Community Health
Centre in the areas of crime prevention and community safety. She has been
a Steering Committee member of the Safe Women Project since 1996.
This presentation will focus on developing partnerships and integrated
approaches to the planning, design, and management of transport, including
taking the needs of all women in the community into account.
	
Gabrielle Kueper, PhD candidate at the Institute of Sustainable
Futures researching a thesis on the interaction between science and policy
in state of the environment reporting: the need for a comprehensive cycle
network in Sydney, current progress towards this network, including the 4
link bike plan and the benefits of cycling as a form of public transport.
	
Alison Gibbins, ex-NSW Environment Officer with the National Union of
Students  & Kerry Nettle, student environmentalist involved in the
campaigns to oppose the  M2 and Eastern Distributor : Win your campaign -
how to employ all the skills available in your organisation to run a
sucessful campaign. It includes using a strategy chart to ensure that all
aspects of the campaign are covered. 

Paul Elliott, cinematographer film director and transport activist. He has
directed music videos for Midnight Oil, Regurgitator and Crowded House. In
1997, he helped set up Reclaim the Streets in Australia: The creation of an
Australia wide direct action network dedicated to taking back our streets
from cars.

Charlie Richardson, Central Sydney Community Transport Group: Attention is
paid to environmental problems associated with using petroleum, but we have
almost forgotten that it will not last forever. How long will we have it,
and what happens when we don’t.

Friday night ExTRAVELganza at the Parramatta Town Hall. 7pm - 10pm

Vanessa Wagner, Triple J comedienne, is our hostess for the evening as we
whirl you through a night of fun filled transport cabaret! Have a laugh
along with Nick Possum, Oral Roberts (aka Mother Superior, Order of the
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence), a short excerpt from the stage play
"Autogedden", jazz music, torch singers and more!!!! $25.00 for cabaret and
dinner. Booze on sale.

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Yes!! I'd like to register for the Get Connected conference.

Name:        

Organisation:

Address:
                  Postcode:

Phone:				(w)			(h)

Fax:

Email:

I will attend on:	____Friday
		____Friday night
		____Saturday

I will:	 	____pay on the day
		____send a cheque now "Ettinger House"	
				               PO Box 47W, Fairfield West 2165
			
Cost: 	$120 both days/$80 one day	Government/industry
	$80 both days/$40 one day	Community group/waged individual
	$40 both days/ $20 one day	Concession
	$25/15				Friday night


Lunch, morning and afternoon tea are provided. Vegetarian and vegan catered
for.
Free childcare is provided - it is essential you contact us to confirm

A free shuttle bus will run between Granville Station and the TAFE. The
TAFE is a 10 minute walk from the station. Both Granville TAFE and
Parramatta Town Hall are wheelchair accessible.

Enjoy!