New mayor and old butt heads minutes after vote

TIM HOWARD

Clarence Valley Council has voted down a bid to give it a voice in a State Government planning body that will determine whether a controversial $80 million development goes ahead in Yamba.

At the council’s frst meeting last week, newly elected Mayor Ray Smith brought a mayoral minute to the council urgently seeking to delay this week’s meeting of the Northern Regional Planning Panel.

The panel, which would normally include at least two Clarence Valley councillors, was convened to meet today to decide on the Clifton 216 dwelling manufactured home estate development at 110 to 120 Carrs Dr, Yamba.

But due to the proximity of the dates of the election and the panel meeting it has not been possible for the council to appoint two members to the panel inside the 14 day deadline set for panel selection.

Cr Smith’s minute asked that council as a matter for urgency write to NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully seeking his help in deferring the meeting and include panel chair Diane Leeson in the email chain to alert her to the council’s wishes.

He also asked that council appoint up to four representatives onto the panel to be ready if deferral was allowed.

Cr Smith told the meeting he had been approached by members of the public alarmed that such an important decision could be made without input from the council.

“I think we need to be seen by the community to be at least trying to have our democratic right exercised. It may well be that the panel refuses and they determine the DA in the absence of council representation, so be it,” he said.

“But I think at least we need to try to have representation on that panel.”

But the idea drew fre from longer serving councillors, who voted in July, during the previous term of council, to inform the NRPP that councillors opposed the development, as did the staff in its submission.

Not only did these councillors take issue with the idea of attempting to delay the panel meeting, they also used the debate to test the new mayor’s ability to chair a meeting.

A number of times the former Mayor, Cr Johnstone, pointed out procedural issues to his successor.

“Okay? I understand.

Cr Johnstone, you’re testing me,” Cr Smith said when the former mayor questioned an aspect of the meeting’s conduct.

“Point of order, Mr Mayor, I’m wanting us to follow the procedure,”

Cr Johnstone replied.

Cr Johnstone was also unhappy Cr Smith had not consulted him, as a former NRPP member, about the matter.

He received support for his stance on the prospect of the DA from general manager Laura Black, who suggested it might be a tactically bad decision to delay the panel meeting as it could allow the developer more time to meet conditions for approval.

He asked if staff could see any advantages in delaying the meeting.

She said staff could see none.

The development’s determination has an added layer of complexity as it is also before the Land and Environment Court in an ongoing hearing that could determine the matter outside the planning procedures.

Clifton took the matter to the court because of a “deemed refusal” of the development when the council did not meet deadlines in supplying information to the planning panel.

As the debate continued it became more feral with the mayor called to make rulings on continual points of order.

Cr Toms was scathing of the mayoral minute, describing it as a “slam dunk, frst meeting”.

She said because the minute had little chance of success and risked alienating the planning minister she could not support it.

Others were concerned there could be a conspiracy involving the community group the Yamba Community Action Network, which has also sought aid from Mr Scully to defer the NRPP meeting.

The election of Yamba CAN’s former secretary Cr Lynne Cairns to this term of council seems to have alarmed some councillors, who were concerned she was exercising undue infuence.

Cr Debrah Novak question the mayor about the authorship of the mayoral minute, asking if Cr Cairns was involved.

Cr Smith said Cr Cairns and others had provided information, but the writing of the minute was his own work.

Cr Alison Whaites said because of the similarity between the Yamba CAN proposal and Cr Smith’s minute she could not support it.

Cr Novak went further and suggested Cr Cairns had a confict of interest which would make the minute unlawful.

Cr Greg Clancy raised a point of order pointing out that councillors could not accuse each of conficts of interest.

The mayor ruled against it, saying there could not be a confict where the matter was a recommendation.

“We’re not discussing who’s going to be on the panel when it comes to that discussion, if there’s a confict of interest that should be declared,” he said.

Cr Toms succeeded in an amendment that stripped point 4 of the minute, the appointment of panel representatives, from the motion.

She argued if the minute was successful, this could be done at the council’s October 22 meeting.

In the midst of the attacks, Cr Smith received support from a number of councillors, new and experienced.

Cr Yager supported the mayor and said it was important for the council to represent the wishes of the community.

She could not see the harm in asking for Mr Scully’s ruling on the planning panel deferment.

“What is the harm if we can’t, if we can’t, as councillors, write a letter,” she said.

“If it’s such a big deal, then I just fnd it a bit a bit silly that this has become such a big issue.

“If it is simply writing a letter that’s going to be refused anyway, we should be in this room doing what the community has asked us to, and that is, represent them.”

Cr Clancy said the new councillor “took the words out of my mouth”.

“We have to raise issues, and this is what we’re doing with this motion” he said.

“If the minister will not intervene if it means an outcome which is not in the community interest. So if the minister was to intervene, I’m sure he would take that very carefully.

“So I think there’s no harm in representing the community.”

When it came to a vote, councillors rejected the mayor’s view 5-4 with Crs Johnstone, Whaites, Novak, Toms and Shane Causley opposed.