Council alpha males butt

heads over protest funds

By Lauren Farrow
OPINION
After weeks
of press releases and political
chest beating, tensions between
Leichhardt Council’s two alpha
males finally came to a head
at a theatrical council meeting
last month.
Since arriving on the scene in
October, Cr Darcy Byrne seems
determined to prove that although
he is out-Greened six to two, you
can’t keep a Labor man down.
And in 2009, the unsuspecting
emailed it to all councillors.
Weeks later, when journalists had
returned to work, a press release
was issued by Cr Byrne.
The release accused Cr Parker
of pork-barrelling, stating that, “for
the mayor to use council funds to
pay protesters was irresponsible and
unethical”.
At this month’s council meeting
Cr Parker hit back.
“Instead of speaking to me, Cr
Byrne decided to speak to News
Limited,” Cr Parker said, boosted by Ed Cutcliffe and ‘Pam’ from the Balmain cafe The Little Marionette.

Mo boys say hello, Dali

members of Balmain-Rozelle
Climate Change proved to be the
perfect suspects to get the year’s
political ball rolling.
During the holiday season, the
group applied to the council for a
travel grant to protest in Canberra
against the Federal Government’s
new carbon emissions scheme.
As the council was not sitting,
the request went straight to Greens
Mayor Jamie Parker, who then
cheers from the gallery.
While a little rumble in the
political jungle never goes astray,
with more than 45 items before
council and the better part of an
hour spent name calling, you have to
wonder how effective political game
playing is.
Cr Byrne was striving to have an
important discussion about how
council funds should be spent, but
the message was lost in translation.
At the end of November, as other
mustachioed men gave thanks to
their shavers, the boys from Balmain
cafe The Little Marionette stood
firm.
Ed Cutcliffe and “Pam” said they
embraced the glory of facial hair by
transforming the unassuming strip
along the upper lip into a piece of art.
Using wax and miniature combs, the
pair sculpt their moustaches daily,
twisting and turning the ends.
Ed said he was inspired by ‘Pam’
and the surrealist artist Salvador
Dali.
He said it looked even more comical
unwaxed.
“It looks like Garfield the cat.”

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Village Voice Balmain March 7