SEVERAL hundred people gathered at the Coffs Harbour foreshore on the chilly Saturday morning of 14 June to protest State Government plans to rezone public land for the redevelopment of the precinct.
The rezoning proposal from Property and Development NSW (PDNSW) aims to amend the Coffs Harbour Local Environmental Plan 2013 to facilitate approximately 250 homes and 200 tourist accommodation rooms.
Garlambirla Guuyu-girrwaa Aboriginal Elders spokesperson Reg Craig welcomed all to Country.
“This Jetty Foreshores area and surrounding area is deeply entrenched in Aboriginal significance, Aboriginal history, Aboriginal heritage and Aboriginal culture,” he said.
“It’s a special place… a place of healing for everybody to access and share.”
City of Coffs Harbour councillor Tony Judge told the crowd, “We don’t want to be looking at our kids and grandkids in 20 years’ time and say we lost this amazing place because we didn’t fight.
“We’re in this for the long haul and it will be the long haul.
“We don’t have the local member with us and we don’t have the Council with us, but we will win.”
Cr Judge later borrowed from Senator Jacqui Lambie and said he has “had a gutful” of the community being let down by state and local politicians.
Councillor Paul Amos said the major issue is the rezoning of public land to mixed use, which allows for the construction of multi-storey residential buildings.
“I will feel like I’m in someone’s front yard, which is wrong.”
Cr Amos also said paid parking at the Jetty might become a real possibility.
He urged community members to contact relevant politicians and to be active on social media to counter misinformation.
Councillor Jonathan Cassell said the lack of detail in the plans could allow for taller buildings than is currently proposed, and that affordable housing – if any – will be at a minimum.
Former Deputy Mayor Sally Townley said, “This is a giant real estate development designed to make millions and millions of dollars, but not for us.”
She told the crowd that the plan is not for “revitalisation” because the foreshores are already full of life, and pointed to the remaining littoral rainforest and how the mutton bird migration is affected by light pollution.
Greens MLC Sue Higginson said the project is “incremental development by stealth” and that those who stand to profit from it walk the halls in Macquarie Street.
“You know now that you are on the right side of history,” she told protesters.
At the conclusion of speeches, participants linked hands to indicate the size of the area they say will be lost to the public.
The rezoning proposal is open for consultation until 30 June, via www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/ppr/under-exhibition/coffs-harbour-jetty-foreshore.
Property and Development NSW, the state government’s central property agency, states the rezoning proposal aims to revitalise the Jetty Foreshore, provide better connections and accessibility to link the city with the harbour, and create a thriving economic hub by co-locating tourism, housing and non-residential uses.
It maintains that public green space will be increased by the proposal and will provide “much needed housing” for the Coffs Harbour region.
By Andrew VIVIAN
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