THREE years ago I sat on the floor of a packed and heated meeting in the Eurobodalla Shire Council Chambers.
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That was the day that the council was meant to pass the new Eurobodalla Local Environmental Plan (LEP).
But there was a big problem. The LEP contained a highly contentious E3 Environmental Zone. The chamber was packed with supporters and opponents.
Many, like myself, wanted E3 zones rethought.
Council couldn’t ignore the community anger that day. So instead they suggested the E3 zones be deferred.
The Rural Lands Committee was established to carry out community consultation and give council better advice about E3 zones, amongst other things.
The committee, comprising landholders, would produce a Rural Lands Strategy in 2014.
But the ERA weren’t happy. So, after the heat and attention died down, they moved to change the Terms of Reference for the Rural Lands Strategy so it better reflected their views about land management.
Voting as a block, the ERA passed this motion. Unlike the first meeting, the council gallery was almost empty that day. Two years on, the Rural Lands Strategy is drawing to a close, yet the ERA still aren’t happy with their findings.
Turns out, most people in this shire, even those unhappy with E3, are pretty concerned about the environment.
They’re people like me, people who own land and believe in things like climate change science.
So, the ERA decided to pre-empt the inconvenient findings of the Rural Lands Committee. They proposed a motion to pre-empt the outcome of the RLS and remove E3 altogether.
Voting as a block, they passed this motion. Here’s the thing: The Rural Lands Committee was set up in 2011 specifically in response to community pressure over the E3 zones proposed for the new Eurobodalla LEP.
The Rural Lands Strategy is the result of hundreds of hours of volunteer work, as well as thousands of dollars of government support.
And now, only a couple of months before it reaches its end, the ERA have decided to declare the Rural Lands Strategy null in void, because it doesn’t entirely reflect their views.
The gallery might not have been as packed as it was that hot day December day three years ago, but it didn’t go unnoticed. It’s dodgy.
Jan Mackenzie
Moruya