Content about Social Issues

The State Government is reportedly considering giving its backing to a report which calls for amalgamations of councils in the Inner West, with speculation that Strathfield, Ashfield and Burwood could be on the block.

According to The Daily Telegraph’s state political editor Andrew Clennell, Local Government Minister Don Page considers the current 152 councils unsustainable.

As reported on Ourstrathfield last week, an independent panel on restructuring councils is expected to report in March, and could outline which councils should merge.

It may have been an agonising week-long wait, but many Strathfield electors appear happy with the tight result they handed their new councillors after the September 8 poll.

The three Liberals – who came so close to a majority on the seven-seat council – now have to spend the next four years ensuring the support of at least one independent. And the two Labor councillors will always feel there is a tantalising chance of a shift in power. 

The three main contestants battling for seats on Strathfield Council in the upcoming September elections have now announced the majority of their candidates – and the Strathfield Scene asked them to spell out their stance on the major issues.

One new group, Strathfield First Action Group, is leading the charge for the independents’ ticket with a team including the Mayor, Cr Paul Barron and his deputy, Cr Helen McLucas.

This weekend marks an important milestone for Strathfield.

It will see the first in a series of big events designed to transform Sydney’s view of the municipality – and hopefully position it as one of the movers and shakers of the inner-west.

It is, in effect, the launch of Brand Strathfield. Expect to hear much more of this in the coming weeks.

Seven outstanding Strathfield young citizens have been celebrated at the annual Young Achievement Awards.

Strathfield Rotary and Strathfield Council joined forces to recognise the recipients’ remarkable commitment to community service, science, arts and sports.

The youngest recipient is just 11 years old. Se-Bom Lee from St Patricks College is the national age champion in the 200m Individual Medley and 100m Backstroke, coming first in those events at the 2012 Australian School Swimming Championships.

Tired of paying high prices for veggies? Worried about reports of additives and pesticides? Soon, you’ll be able to grow your own fruit, herbs and plants in a new community garden.

Strathfield Council has had a big response to plans to create a garden at Laker Reserve on the corner of Elva Street and Beresford Road, and Project Officer Sue Stevens said residents have been overwhelmingly positive.

Strathfield’s men are the slimmest in the state, according to a study carried out by the University of Adelaide.

And while it is true that genes play a part in a person’s weight, experts say a good education and high incomes are also important factors.

Four people were threatened with a knife during a home invasion in their Hunter Street house in Strathfield on Sunday night.

Three men walked in through an open door about 10.35am and demanded the four people at home hand over their belongings.

One man was armed with a metal pole, which he used to bash a 20-year-old householder several times, police allege.

Another man threatened the foursome - a 19-year-old woman and three men aged 19, 20 and 27 - with a kitchen knife.

Police are hunting a gang of men after two officers were injured while trying to break up a brawl aboard a train at Strathfield in the early hours of Sunday.

A 31-year old sergeant was punched several times in the head and suffered concussion, while a 38-year-old colleague was treated for back and facial injuries.

Both were treated at Concord Hopsital.

Quick thinking by a passing motorist almost certainly prevented a rape in a Homebush laneway on August 28.

A local resident, who spoke to the Scene on the proviso he would not be identified, said he was driving past AutoPro on Parra-matta Road about 7pm when he saw a struggle taking place in a laneway.

A highly sophisticated international credit card skimming network has been smashed by police after raids on homes in Sydney, including one in Strathfield.

When Strathfield Council first mooted the launch of a new paper, some asked: “Why? Surely this is a digital age!”

Now, after 12 editions, and on the eve of our first birthday, no-one puts that question anymore.

Our exclusive front page stories, from the Town Centre redevelopment to bugs and cameras found in the private homes of councillors, have proved beyond doubt the Scenehas stuck to its proud proclamation: “Fiercely parochial.”