DEAR News Of The Area,

LAST May, the Mayor proposed that Council should approve an expenditure of $70,000 of ratepayers’ funds to have a question about the Jetty Foreshores development included as part of the September Council Elections.

His proposal was approved by the majority of Councillors.

Since the foreshores development plans became a big issue, the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and some Councillors have criticised the previous survey questions used by the State Government, as being biassed in favour of development.

We now know the question that Council wants to ask voters.

Here it is:

“The Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore will be redeveloped. Do you agree that some of the foreshore land should be used for multi-level private residential development?”

Have a look at the full question by clicking on this link –

https://www.coffsharbour.nsw.gov.au/Your-Council/Projects-and-initiatives/Initiatives/Have-your-say-on-the-future-of-the-Jetty-Foreshores

A couple of points relating to bias need to be pointed out.

1 There is NO guarantee that any development will proceed, if all residential development is prevented.

People voting to oppose the residential development were not informed that this could mean that the Government could walk away from the project.

2 Voters are given the choice of lots of residential development OR no development.

Not many people would want to see 250 residential units, but many want to see some commercial development . They will not be given the chance to vote for some form of compromise solution.

Rather than trying to clarify what the local community wants, this question is designed to produce a NO response, and so strengthen the Mayor’s political position.

It’s the same sort of bias that the Mayor and his supporting Councillors have been accusing the State Government of. The decision of the voters is NOT binding on the State Government or the new Council, but it’s costing ratepayers around $70,000.

There’s one major reality that the Mayor and his supporters fail to grasp.

Neither Council or the State Government are going to spend many millions of dollars of their money to develop the jetty foreshores.

If the State Government can’t sell a small percentage of the foreshores land to developers to build tourist, residential and retail accommodation and produce money to fund the community facilities, then it’s unlikely that there will be any significant development of the foreshores and the area will stay as a poorly maintained park with a few BBQ shelters. It will then be another ten to twenty years before there’s another effort to do anything there.

It would be interesting to know if that is the objective of the anti-development group.

Regards,
Michael WALLACE
Coffs Harbour.