Hawks Nest land owners address Great Lakes Cr Len Roberts Tea Gardens, Hawks Nest by NOTA - February 24, 2015February 24, 2015 A heated discussion broke out among frustrated North Hawks Nest land owners at the most recent Hawks Nest Tea Gardens Progress Association meeting. As it stands the Great Lakes Council and NSW government have an agreement that development can go ahead on the eastern side of North Hawks Nest if the western side is handed over to the Myall Lakes National Park as an environmental offset. For this to become a reality, land owners need a developer with “deep pockets” who can buy out owners along Mungo Brush Road, and hand over land on the western side to the National Parks and Wildlife Service as an offset to develop land on the eastern side. Great Lakes Deputy Mayor Len Roberts said the council was trying to keep this current proposal in “hibernation” pending take up by a new developer, whenever that may be. According to Cr Roberts, the plan has been the subject of a Commission of Enquiry that ultimately supported the approved master plan. “It’s important to note that the approved plan was developed after considerable community consultation which ended with all local community groups supporting it,” he explained at the meeting. The approved proposal is apparently “sitting on the minister’s desk” awaiting finalisation of these outstanding environmental offset issues. A developer was willing to take on the project in 2009 but the offer fell through. “It’s not council’s fault that the Global Financial Crisis forced the previous proponent to withdraw,” Cr Roberts said. Some owners of western side properties were in attendance at the meeting. They questioned the statements made by Cr Roberts saying no sensible developer was ever going to spend the $100 million required to develop the approved area of 15% of the land when the remaining 85% has to be dedicated to the government for environmental protection.
I read the comments by Councillor Len Roberts that the North Hawks Nest landholdings were subject to a Commission of Inquiry that ultimately supported the approved Master Plan. Not true. North Hawks Nest landholdings were NEVER subject to a Commission of Inquiry. They were subject to a statutory Public Inquiry (under Commissioner Dr. Mark Carleton) that found most North Hawks Nest landholdings were constrained by ‘Core Koala Habitat’ under SEPP 44 – Koala Habitat Protection. What Councillor Roberts forgot to tell everyone at this meeting was that Great Lakes Council removed from consideration all of the Koala plot findings that were affirmed in the North Hawks Nest Public Inquiry Report (2002) when there was an active police investigation (Case C1411.2443) into these former Koala plot matters. Perhaps Councillor Roberts should tell readers of the Myall Coast Nota why all of these former koala plot surveys from 1996 to 1999 – undertaken mostly by Great Lakes Council environmental consultants were removed from consideration when the NSW Government is still relying on the findings of the North Hawks Nest Public Inquiry Report (2002)? Regards Dr. Graeme Wells Ecologist Reply
