THE TWEED SHIRE Volume 1 #35 Thursday, May 7, 2009 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
PAGES 08-09 LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Controversial township gets the nod Ken Sapwell
Millionaire property developer Peter van Lieshout has won a three-year fight to create a new hinterland township in the shadow of Mt Warning despite a massive backlash from surrounding villages. Tweed Shire councillors rejected demands from more than 500 residents to refuse the controversial development during a highly charged meeting called after a Land and Environment Court judge threatened to intervene. Acting Mayor Barry Longland was forced to order protestors to be cleared from the public gallery after they unleashed a tirade of abuse aimed at councillors who voted against his motion to refuse the so-called eco-village development near Kunghur. Two of the councillors who were targets of accusations of ‘shameful’, ‘disgusting’ and ‘horrific’ conduct left the chamber while one of only two supporters of the proposal, Jim Warburton, sought refuge in the chamber after claiming he had been jostled by opponents. Pandemonium erupted after Cr Longland and Greens’ councillor Katie Milne’s move to refuse approval for what will be Tweed’s first new hinterland town in a century failed to win the support of fellow community councillor Dot Holdom and pro-development councillors Phil Youngblutt, Kevin Skinner and Warren Polglase.
Mr van Lieshout, a local Liberal Party organiser, also came under fire over alleged tree clearing. His wife, mayor Joan van Lieshout, was ineligible to vote but still sent a formal apology for her non-attendance. After more than two hours of debate the council voted four-two to approve the Nightcap village concept plan, designed to house up to 1,000 people in two and three-storey villas on a 3,000-acre site that includes a hotel, conference centre, backpackers and shops, but with a slew of new conditions, including a ban on ferrets, goats and horses. This week’s extraordinary meeting was called following a warning from the court to make a decision just days after the council voted unanimously to delay approval while it weighed a raft of objections, mainly relating to the development’s isolation, size and sustainability. Commissioner of the court, former NSW Liberal Party state minister Tim Moore, who earlier this year inspected Mr van Lieshout’s property, told the council to act quickly or he would take the matter out of its hands. Uki Residents’ Association spokesman, Phil Carr, told council in an address it was clear that surrounding communities were overwhelmingly against building a suburbia in the middle of an area more biodiverse than Kakadu. ‘We should not fear the court – it’s part of the planning process and even if it costs (money) it’s the price you
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Letting shadows tell a story
Luis Feliu Photo Jeff Dawson Elenor Sapir’s passion for shadow puppetry has a genetic string to it. Elenor, (pictured) of Murwillumbah, is a member of ‘Puppeteers Without Borders,’ an organisation dedicated to education through puppetry and founded in France by her mother, Erica Sapir. Shadow Puppet Theatre is the oldest form of motion picture story telling. Its origins lie in prehistory, prior to written language. Over the past few weeks, Elenor has been running weekly workshops in teaching children how to make a simple but effective puppet show. The workshops will culminate in a performance at the Ukitopia Youth Arts Festival on May 16 at the Uki Sports Ground clubhouse. The ‘shadows’ will tell their stories between 2 and 3pm.
have to pay for proper outcomes,’ he said. Two residents living near the property questioned Mr van Lieshout’s environmental credentials, alleging that he had bulldozed and burnt koala food trees and replanted other varieties four years ago, with complaints to the council going unheeded. Mr van Lieshout yesterday admitted felling a ‘few hundred’ trees during a noxious weed clearing opera-
Elenor grew up making puppets and performing puppet shows, but in her adult life chose a musical path. After completing a degree in music she ventured into writing and performing songs. In 2004 Elenor started Epiphany Arts, a communal performing arts event at Stokers Siding, which proved popular over its four-year run. In recent years Elenor has travelled back and forth between Europe and Australia with her family, performing abroad with her husband in their duo, Tupenny Opera. Elenor returned from a long stay in France last year, where she had again joined her mother in the world of puppetry. While in France she designed and prepared a shadow puppet show which mum Erica performed at an international AIDS conference in Mexico City. She also worked with Erica in puppetry workshops in local schools. For further info on the workshops call Elenor on 02 6672 3245.
tion, but he had Forestry Commission approval and had since replanted the site with mixed plantation trees. Other speakers raised concerns over the impact of an extra 4,500 cars on local roads, its isolation from services and predictions it would become home for drug users moving between Brisbane and Nimbin. They also questioned whether future residents would fulfill financial obligations to maintain a high-tech
Work Wanted!
onsite sewage treatment plant and the impact on the shire’s drinking water if a plant failure resulted in pollution of the nearby Tweed River. Cr Polglase moved to defuse the issue by inserting a new condition requiring Mr van Lieshout to put up a $200,000 bank guarantee to cover the costs if residents failed to put enough into a sinking fund to maintain the plant and other infrastructure. continued on page 2
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