Bellambi Lagoon

1st Jun 04

Mr ORGAN (Cunningham) (1.51 p.m.) — Today's Illawarra Mercury reports massive environmental damage to Bellambi Lagoon. Last week Wollongong City Council bulldozed natural waste traps and special filter mechanisms, replacing them with unfiltered concrete pipes. Years of hard work by Chris Illert, Danielle Reverberi and other locals have been destroyed. Council's action was nothing less than stupid; it was sheer incompetence. They consulted no-one—certainly not the Bellambi Lagoon protection and regeneration society, who have been involved for years in more than $1 million worth of work to clean up the lagoon. This is by no means a local and isolated example. Recently, we saw a council hit squad with chainsaws cut down native vegetation at Sandon Point to give nearby residents uninterrupted views. We saw sand dunes at Fairy Meadow bulldozed, with no environmental impact study.

In Wollongong we have the crazy situation where council's division of engineering services—headed by ALP member and one-time Cunningham candidate, Mr Joe Scimone—is responsible for management and protection of one of the most beautiful and environmentally sensitive coastal zones in all of Australia. These are engineers in charge—not environmental scientists. Talk about putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank. And what is the result? Ongoing destruction and the local community being treated with arrogance and contempt. The council has no coastal management policy—that would limit development opportunities. General manager Rod Oxley heads a `pro-development council'. This is a rotten council and the community is sick of their continuing lack of commitment to protecting the environment from the ravages of inappropriate development. With Labor once again in control, it looks like a return to the bad old days where the local environment and our cultural heritage lose out.