Even from very light polluted Cherrybrook you can still do some deep sky stuff.
This was taken from my backyard (stack of 22 frames) with a 50mm lens Canon 450D and no filters
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7...d233d114_h.jpg
Seeing conditions are generally much better than in the UK so you can get some good planetary detail from the backyard
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1074/5...c816070a_z.jpg