Report on the 2026 Annual General Meeting

By Jude Paul, Secretary, Bulletin 07/2026 September

Thank you to all those who joined us at the Glebe Society’s  Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 23 August 2026, although I think our guest speaker Dr Elizabeth Farrelly was a bigger drawcard than the formal election of office bearers and the usual annual reports. 

The elected members of our Management Committee are now:

President: Duncan Leys

Vice-President: Vacant

Treasurer: Jane Gatwood

Secretary: Jude Paul

Ordinary Members: Angela Hallinan, Fiona Hollier, Mark Stapleton and Ryan Shelswell

Ryan Shelswell is a new member of the Management Committee and replaces Tim Hesketh. Many thanks Tim for your thoughtful contribution and your stand-in Bulletin editor role. Ryan’s bio appears in the Bulletin.

Duncan Leys gave his report as Acting President for the year ending June 2026.  A summary of his report appears in the Bulletin, his full report here.  The Treasurer, Jane Gatwood, reported that the audited annual financial reports were not available in time for the AGM, but would be circulated to members as soon as they are. However, she reported that the Society’s financial position is healthy and we made a modest profit in the year. As Secretary, I reported that we have 371 financial members, slightly down on this time last year, largely due to loss of long-term older members. We are looking at strategies to attract new members. 

Guest speaker

Elizabeth Farrelly won us over from the start when she told us Glebe was her favourite place in the world (after Paris), with its unique blend of hilly contours lined with terrace houses, the many intact old streetscapes and laneways and the social diversity of its residents. In conversation with Allan Hogan, she highlighted the importance of articulating what we believe should be preserved and what could be adapted in response to current housing and economic pressures.

Elizabeth felt that there is no point in demonising developers; rather the problem is bad government which allows developers to cut corners or makes it impossible for builders to build small and mid-rise development projects. Higher density can be achieved with good design; 50-storey towers are not the only way. She suggested a role for the Society in putting up proposals to Council for publicly owned sites such as the one in Bay Street.

She noted that there is a danger that Glebe could become the preserve of rich old white people and Sydney a city without grandchildren as it becomes too expensive for families. She felt it is important to keep Glebe’s public housing and that private rental housing should be a recognised and respected form of housing.