COMMUNITY members made their position clear on the prospective sale of land at 109 Foreshore Drive, Salamander Bay over the weekend, with hundreds gathering for a rally on the site.

Organisers say the aim of the rally was to urge Mayor Ryan Palmer and Councillors Steve Tucker, Glen Dunkley, Matt Bailey and Chris Doohan to reconsider their position on the sale of the land.

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The above listed councillors voted to permit the sale of the 557m2 parcel of the land to fund urgent community works, at the recent Port Stephens Council meeting, after the notion was put forward in a Mayoral Minute by Mayor Ryan Palmer.

Those organising the event are asking locals to let their Councillors know where they stand on the proposed sell off.

Hundreds attended the event and the Mayor was invited to speak however declined to attend.

The land is used as a soft launching area for kayaks and fishing as well as by the local koalas to access the beach where they lick the sand for salt, a habit thought to be unique to Port Stephens koalas.

On hand were Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson and Member for Port Stephens Kate Washington, along with a range of Councillors including Leah Anderson, Giacomo Arnott, Peter Francis, Peter Kafer and Jason Wells.

Also present was past Councillor Brian Watson-Will of Corlette, who served on Council between 1991-1995 and 1999-2005.

Brian Watson-Will told News Of The Area, “I think Council trying to sell this land is scandalous myself, the drain is very important as are the trees, this land was the developers contribution when the area was developed.”

Brain also noted that it is interesting that the ‘Park Rules’ sign sits upon the land that the Mayor wants to sell off.

Member for Port Stephens Kate Washington told News Of The Area, “I’m sick of stupid decisions being made by people who don’t listen to the community, who don’t care about the environment in positions of power and this is another one, we’ve seen it with Mambo Wetlands and this is another one.

“The first act of the newly reelected Mayor under his first Mayoral Minute is to sell off land that this community cares deeply about and that is important for the survival of our koalas.

“It beggars belief, it is a move that reeks of political retribution against Leah Anderson and a complete betrayal of our community particularly the volunteers who work so hard to look after Mambo Wanda Wetlands and Port Stephens Koalas Volunteers who are trying to prevent their extinction locally,” said Washington.

Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson said, “Aside from this being a really important corridor for koalas it is also a really important thoroughfare for people with their kayaks and kids – this is really a safe little part of the waterway with good parking.

“In terms of announcements from the government with koalas now listed as Endangered – it is a travesty that we’ve let it get to that stage.

“If the Government was really serious about koalas they’d be stumping up money that would ensure that habitat is preserved and the local councils would be working with the state agencies and now we should be working as a nation to ensure that full tracts of land like this which is really just another block of land for a developer who wants to build houses but is pivotal to our community and certainly pivotal to our environment,” she said.

Councillor Peter Francis said, “This is a travesty.

“The Mayoral Minute that was put through was the worst political stunt that I have ever seen in my 21 years in Port Stephens,” he said.

Loss of community access to the site and loss of a koala corridor were both discussed at the rally.

Mayor Ryan Palmer told News Of The Area that any potential sale of 109 Foreshore Drive would not block access to the beach, as the reserve adjacent will remain open to the public.

“In fact this access will remain as one of seven access points to the beach over a 950m stretch,” Mr Palmer said.

In terms of koalas, Mr Palmer said an Ecological Report completed on 109 Foreshore Drive shows the koala corridor is primarily located on the adjacent reserve and not on 109 Foreshore Drive.

“The reserve will remain in the ownership of the community and ensure access to the beach for the local koala population,” Mr Palmer said.

“The reserve adjacent to 109 Foreshore Drive is where the vast majority of trees are located.

“The vacant lot at 109 Foreshore Drive has one tree on the boundary.”

Mr Palmer said that if the property is sold, the funds will go straight back into “urgent community projects”, including the updating the Port Stephens Council’s Comprehensive Plan of Management (CKPoM).

“This twenty year old plan urgently needs updating – in its current form it is neither assisting in the protection of our important koala population or supporting balanced development.

“A review of the CKPoM will make sure that important koala habitat is protected and the sale of this property would also fund another $2.4 million in community building projects proposed including roads and pathways to improve safety for our people,” Mr Palmer said.

Given the impacts of Covid-19 on Port Stephens’ financial security, Mr Palmer said the community needed to understand the financial constraints under which Council is currently working.

“Preliminary forecasts show the organisation continuing along its current path will result in recording deficits for the next ten years.

“As well as this, Port Stephens has the lowest rates in the region. This is not sustainable.

“Council has a choice to make on the direction of the organisation if we want to see Port Stephens prosper into the future.

“We could continue to cut expenditure and reduce community services such as mowing, the opening hours of our pool and libraries and maintenance of our public facilities, or, we can raise revenue through an increase in rates or fees, drive our non-rate sources of revenue such as the reinvestment of funds from the sale of land.

“I believe that a combination of all of these factors will be needed.”

By Marian SAMPSON