I was pleased to see at lease 500 people at the Save Catho protest this morning, on the beach at Catho! The Catho Boardriders had laid out surfboards on the sand to spell out 'Save Catho' and the Channel 7 helicopter hovered for ages filming us all, wearing red t-shirts and waving! Didn't see the Libs candidate, Garry Edwards but did see Independent Gillian Sneddon and sitting ALP member Robert Coombes. Surprised Mr Coombes was there given his previous statement that development at Catho is "inevitable".
This area was originally a mining town, set up for the purpose of housing the miners employed to work in the coal mines underneath the whole area. Now, it is an iconic reminder of our heritage and should be returned to the community as a conservation area, not turned into a mcmansion paradise with little public transport, no real amenities and poor infrastructure. It should be retained as a buffer between the expanding cities of Lake Macquarie and Wyong, not turned into a satellite suburb that will destroy the ambiance and heritage value of the place. Indeed, it is only the land deal between the rotten state Labor government and Rose Group that has seen the proposal get this far. Catho was listed near the bottom of the list of potential development sites in the Lower Hunter Regional Strategy until Rose Group called in favours from NSW Labor (see www. democracyforsale.com.au for a list of donations). This of course was only possible due to then Planning Minister Sartor's notorious Part 3A amendments to the EP&A Act - really the 'key to the door' for developers to move in on any area of NSW and bypass local councils and communities. Well, enough is enough and the people have well and truly spoken - stop any development of Catho, rezone to conservation and get rid of the dirty Part 3A to prevent anything like this happening again.
About Me
- Phillipa Parsons
- I am a Greens councillor on Lake Macquarie City Council. I am also the Greens candidate for Swansea in this upcoming 2011 NSW state election. My biggest motivator is ensuring sustainability. This must be the key word in decision making at all levels of government. We need investment in renewable 'clean' energy sources and begin a just transition from dirty coal that pollutes the air, affects the health of entire communities and contributes to climate chaos globally. We need to ensure that we protect our communities from over-developments and protect public space. We need to ensure public education and health are top of the list of funding priorities. I appreciate feedback so don't hold back if you have something constructive to contribute! The biggest question we all need to ask ourselves is "what will you tell your grandchildren you did to address these issues?"