By Megan Gorrey and Patrick Hatch
Since former Coalition minister Rob Stokes left parliament at the last election, he’s been a man of leisure. But the planning enthusiast and committed Christian has a new gig, albeit an unpaid one, that combines those two passions. And he’s already coming up with ideas that may ruffle some feathers.
Stokes is the new chair of the Faith Housing Alliance, which advocates on behalf of faith-based social housing providers. Given the affordable housing crisis in Sydney, Stokes has his eye on a particular type of real estate that’s usually in an excellent location and can be supplied for free: old, disused churches. “There’s a lot of spare capacity in terms of churches that aren’t used, and they’re in a really good location,” he told this column.
Former Coalition minister Rob Stokes has taken on a new role after leaving Macquarie Street in March.Credit: Louise Kennerley
And yet, given this involves building approvals in Sydney, faith groups often run into problems that test even their generous spirit. One example, Stokes said, was when a church in Marrickville that had been empty for seven years was offered for build-to-rent affordable housing.
Having the use of land just 150 metres from the station would have made the project far more affordable than land that had to be purchased, but a heritage order was slapped on the 120-year-old church that cost the social housing company more than $1 million to challenge. Stokes said the heritage value was low; he described it as the 31st best example of Queen Anne architecture out of 32 across the inner west.
As reported in the Herald this week, the project is now going ahead. “I felt that everyone is belting on about the need for more housing supply, yet no one actually speaks up for the faith housing providers,” said Stokes.
Stokes’ new role sets him on a similar post-politics path to his close friend, former NSW premier Mike Baird, who is a fellow keen surfer and also represented a northern beaches electorate.
Baird was appointed chief executive of Christian aged care charity HammondCare, which provides palliative and dementia care services, several years after quitting the state’s top job in 2017.
RADIO ACTIVE
It’s a good thing there are no pressing problems facing the Republic of Sydney’s Inner West, such as housing costs, traffic congestion or dying high streets. That means there’s sufficient time to debate the real issues, namely, phone tower radiation.
Greens councillor and science degree holder Marghanita da Cruz wants to write to the communications minister and local MPs to tell them “our residents have concerns about the initial and cumulative radiation from these towers being placed in our densely populated [local government area]”.
Da Cruz is demanding to know “what radiation safeguards are in place regarding ensuring the cumulative radiation effect of the additional equipment and community consultation are met”, whatever that means. We can’t wait to find out.
Just last month, Randwick councillors debated a Greens proposal to write to Penny Wong, Tanya Plibersek, Pat Conroy and Japanese ambassador Suzuki Kazuhiro demanding they urgently lobby Japan not to release treated Fukushima wastewater into the ocean.
“We are a coastal community,” said Greens councillor Michael Olive. “That can seriously affect us, right here and right now.”Alas, Tokyo will never know Randwick’s wrath as the motion was defeated by just one vote.
For readers who may be interested, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency advises that, based on current research, “there are no established health effects” that can be attributed to low-level radiofrequency electromagnetic energy exposure from mobile phone base stations.
Victorian Liberal MP, father feel the heat from the ‘cookers’
A civil war inside the Victorian Liberal Party shows no signs of letting up.
The latest skirmish hit the headlines at the weekend after sitting MP Renee Heath attended an event hosted by anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination activist Morgan Jonas – who also happens to be the founder of the Freedom Party of Victoria.
Renee has said she was only at the Rowville event to support her father Brian, who was speaking at the event along with a rogues’ gallery of fringe politics influencers and conspiracy peddlers.
United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet and former Sydney federal MP Craig Kelly were there too, and warmly received by the audience, who, by the way, seem to have embraced the “cooker” label used to deride anti-lockdown and conspiracy-minded folks.
Based out in Gippsland, Brian is the senior pastor at the hardline City Builders Church – an ultra-conservative Pentecostal outfit which this masthead has previously revealed has attempted to infiltrate conservative politics.
Victorian MP Renee Heath after a Liberal Party meeting in May. Credit: Eddie Jim
It’s the last thing Opposition Leader John Pesutto needed before the August 26 Warrandyte byelection as he attempts to recover from the messy expulsion of MP Moira Deeming after her attendance at an anti-trans rally gatecrashed by Nazis.
Renee’s attendance infuriated party colleagues. But if they don’t fancy the prospect of expelling another sitting MP, it might be more clear-cut when it comes to her dad.
CBD has confirmed Brian is an office holder Liberal Party’s Latrobe Valley State Election Council. He would not return our calls, and Renee and Liberal HQ declined to comment – even just to confirm the status of his position.
But sources say he’ll be in trouble as soon as the Warrandyte vote is over.
“There’ll be a motion to expel him and significant pressure on Renee to be expelled too,” one party source told us. “Brian has breached the party constitution – too smart by half this time.”
The party constitution provides grounds for expulsion if a member is found “guilty of disloyalty to the party”. That might include appearing at a political rival’s event where other speakers were laying into Pesutto almost as much as Premier Daniel Andrews.
So both the Heaths could be feeling the heat soon. As a comedian booked to provide light relief at Friday’s event put it: “It’s getting hot in here – must be all the cookers.”
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