DEAR News Of The Area,
JETTY Dunecare Group Inc is the longest continually serving group in Australia, operating for over 43 years now.
Dunecare has worked hard to turn our Jetty Foreshore from an open, windblown wasteland with lots of weeds and rubbish into a sheltered, much-loved and beautiful public space with critically endangered littoral rainforest, wetlands and dunes that are thriving, healthy and that sustain really important natural and cultural values that are cherished by locals and visitors alike.
Dunecare has worked over this time with the Garlambirla Guuyu-girrwaa Elders, Coffs Land Council, local residents and Coffs Council to protect, restore and care for these sacred public lands at the Foreshore.
For decades now Dunecare has voluntarily engaged in all previous planning attempts to develop the public open spaces at the Jetty Foreshore into privately built developments and highrises.
We have consistently maintained the need to protect these lands for the people, for public uses, and we are proud to stand united with the Elders to care for this sacred gathering and healing space.
Dunecare has watched as the most recent NSW Government attempts to develop highrise at the Foreshore have completely ignored the wishes of the Elders and Traditional Custodians of these lands who have all said “No”.
Dunecare also recognises the resounding majority (68.68 percent) of our voting community who have all said “No” to multi-storey private residential development.
Because of this Dunecare stands in solidarity with the Elders and our community in saying “No means No”.
Because we have said no for decades, Dunecare has in protest refused to engage with NSW Government staff and consultants.
Our community needs to stop this rezoning to make sure that the future of our Jetty Foreshore is for all and that these sacred lands are not developed in a greedy public land grab.
Dunecare aims to keep all our public land for the future for our locals and visitors and the wildlife who depend upon it.
Building major residential development in a coastal hazard zone with escalating extreme events and accelerating sea level rise is just crazy.
We see these plans for what they are.
They will rip up the landscape, alter drainage, overshadow the Critically Endangered vegetation and our beloved parkland and take our carparks.
This will badly harm the living legacy that we have created with our decades of hard voluntary work undertaken for the public benefit.
Regards,
Desnee MCCOSKER,
Jetty Dunecare President.
