Clarence Valley News

Councillors knock back Brooms conflict consultant proposal

Published

3 months ago

8 May 2024

Liam

Advertisements

Councillors knock back Brooms conflict consultant proposal

By Tim Howard

Arriving at a plan of management for the Brooms Head Reserve has become so contentious Clarence Valley Council staff considered a conflict resolution consultant necessary to continue the process.

Council resolved in February to hear a further staff report on the long running attempt to arrive at a PoM for the reserve.

But when the report arrived it recommended ditching previous efforts and estimate costs for a new draft plan.

It also included recommendations to engage both a planning consultant and a “facilitator specialising in conflict resolution given the polarisation within the community regarding future management of the Reserve.”

To fund it the plan was to allocate $100,000 from the Crown Maintenance Reserve and include it in the 2024/25 Operational Plan.

The proposal was not to the liking of councillors.

Cr Debrah Novak moved council continue with preparing the draft PoM in accordance with the resolution in February 2024, allocate funds up to $40,000 from the Crown Maintenance Reserve to complete this PoM.

The motion recommended funding the engagement of a planning consultant, but not a conflict resolution consultant.

It also stipulated the Terms of Reference for the PoM do not include, or relate to, the 2017 Concept Design Report for Brooms Head Holiday Park.

Most councillors believed the need for conflict resolution was overstated, although all admitted the process to arrive at a PoM had been long and contentious, with some reference to attempts in 1995 to come up with a PoM.

In moving her motion, Cr Novak said many people at Brooms Head were happy with what the council proposed in its February 24 resolution and this motion if successful would “provide clarity” for the community.

But Cr Karen Toms said she could see trouble ahead if the council pressed ahead with current February resolution.

“It’s it is a it is a very contentious issue,” she said. “And I wish we could fix it so easily.

“But I come back to the information in the report that tells us that the Local Government Act 1993 does not make provision to amend an existing PoM.

“And we’ve got a very old PoM that I don’t think we even had proof that had went out to community consultation.”

Cr Toms said there she knew people in the community who were unhappy with the process.

“It’s it’s complicated because I think some of the community stakeholders don’t really understand what a plan of management is,” she said.

“They wanted to have it to have more teeth, they wanted to have nitty gritty things in there, but that’s not what Plans of Management do.”

Cr Toms was also concerned the $40,000 allocated would not cover what needed to be done and and the absence of conflict resolution consultant.

“In the report, it talks about $34,000 And it was $54,000,” she said. “So we’ve got a bit of money.

We don’t know if that’s enough.”

Cr Toms said conflict resolution was perhaps not the right term, but she believed there needed to be some interaction with the community to ensure both it and the council were on the same page.

“We need to somehow bring the community with us,” she said. “That’s what was said back in February or before we need to bring the community with us but I think the community also needs to understand really what a PoM is.”

Cr Steven Pickering said he had heard many different messages coming from the Brooms Head community about what was needed.

“They want a different goal from the plan of management I think that by putting the conflict resolution consultant back into the mix, will give for a more streamlined and hopefully a better outcome,” he said.

“In the end, we want to we want to plan of management that the community agree with.

We don’t we don’t want a plan of management that is being forced on the community because it just won’t work.”

He said the community were engaged and consulted in the previous plan of management, but when it came to council, there wasn’t one person that he spoke to me that agreed with the entire plan.

“If we don’t have the conflict resolution, and we don’t end up with a PoM that they all agree with, we’re going to be back to square one again,” he said.

“And we’ll be doing this for the third time within a couple of years and I don’t want to see that.”

But the majority of councillors were more optimistic.

Cr Bill Day said beginning again would offend many in the Brooms Head community.

“It seems this Brooms Head plan of management issue has been argued for just so long,” he said.

“Finally in February we seem to have reached a degree of consensus with most parties.

“I had quite a bit of feedback from Brooms Head, people, residents and people who use the caravan park saying that we’re very very happy with council’s decision in February.”

“It seemed that we were on the right track.”

Cr Greg Clancy said there were different views about what needed to be done, but his feedback was that it did not need a person to sort them out.

“I went to the campers and caravans annual meeting and I’ve talked to locals and I’ve talked to visitors so I’ve got a bit of an idea of across the board and I think we need to employ a planning consultant to complete the job,” he said.

Put to the vote, council voted 7-2 in favour of Cr Novak’s motion, with Crs Toms and Pickering against.

For more local Clarence Valley news, click here.

Advertisements

Up Next

Grafton High mummy reveals more secrets

Don't Miss

Council inserts action plan into tourism blueprint

Clarence Valley News

Community group’s council audit delayed

Published

3 days ago

24 July 2024

Liam

Advertisements

Community group’s council audit delayed

By Tim Howard

A community group supposedly the target of a Clarence Valley Council audit in February 2024 over the cost of its interactions with council has pointed out the audit has not been completed. The General Manager, Laura Black commented, “I anticipate it will take a couple of months.”

The secretary of Yamba Community Action Network (YambaCAN), Lynne Cairns, said this week’s council business paper included a report, Council Meeting Checklist – update on actions taken.

The report revealed staff had not completed the action, the result of a council resolution at the February 2024 council meeting.

“On page 175 of the business paper there is a note next to the item,” Ms Cairns said.

“It reads: ‘Staff responsible for collating information have been diverted to prepare and respond to legal action taken against council by an executive member of YambaCan’.”

Ms Cairns said this was incorrect as no-one on the YambaCAN executive had taken legal action against the council.

She was aware of some matters concerning the council a member of YambaCAN had taken to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

“These matters were not matters concerning YambaCAN and the member who brought them was not acting for YambaCAN,” Ms Cairns said.

“I’m concerned this is some disinformation that somehow YambaCAN is responsible for delaying council’s investigation of its actions.

“YambaCAN is requesting an apology from council for the incorrect information in the business paper.”

The resolution read: that the general manager advises, by way of a report the:

1. allocation of resources required to respond to GIPAs submitted by YambaCan since January 2022.

2. allocation of resources required to respond to RFI (Request for Information) submitted by YambaCan since January 2022.

3. any cost implications of delays to delivering the Yamba Community Precinct project since January 2022.

The matter was passed 5-4, but debate was fiery.

Cr Karen Toms brought it as a notice of motion to alert the public to the costs the group’s GIPA requests and requests for information were incurring.

But other councillors said these costs were part of council operating openly and transparently.

Cr Greg Clancy was concerned the motion focused on just one group when council records showed it was responsible for a fraction of the requests.

“As seen in the listing of GIPA applications on council’s website, there are 22 GIPA applications and only six of these refer to YambaCAN,” he told the February meeting.

He also revealed YambaCAN had lodged a request for information, however were informed that there were 290 requests for information previously lodged by others that were waiting to be processed.

Ms Cairns was concerned that with the council going into caretaker mode on August 16, ahead of the September local government elections, council could not effectively decide on the matter.

There will be report on the outcome of this matter and other matters at council in next week’s edition of The Northern Rivers Times.

For more Yamba news, click here.

Advertisements

Clarence Valley News

Clarence Valley Country Muster

Published

1 week ago

17 July 2024

Liam

Advertisements

Clarence Valley Country Muster

If you are missing the country sounds from Tamworth, fret not, as the Clarence Valley Country Muster is just around the corner.

Expanded from two days to four, the event will start on July 25^th and go to July 28^th at 11 Coulters Lane, Ulmarra, near Grafton.

You will enjoy artists such as Jade Hurley, John, Lloyd, Jack Watson, Lindsay Waddington and Jamie Davis.

Special guest artists, Paul Ricketts, Winner of the Thornton Young Award and Nay McAplin, Winner of the Walk Ups in July, will also make an appearance.

Your comperes for the main stage will be Terry Gordon OAM and Ken ‘Chainsaw’ Lindsay.

And bring those nerves with you, as from 10.30am on Thursday, aspiring artists can take their turn on the microphone, with John Lloyd hosting the walk-ups.

All acts will be vying for a gig at next July’s event.

Now is the time to grab a group of friends or family members and book your spot by heading to their website www.cvcmuster.com.au or calling Wendy Gordon on 0432 741947.

Gates open for early arrival at the muster site on Tuesday, July 23.

For $120 per person, you can enjoy a full week of camping, camaraderie and entertainment at one of the best value-for-money festivals in the Clarence Valley.

Check out is Tuesday, July 30.

If you have a fire pit, bring it along as wood will be supplied.

There will be songs around the campfire, best dressed Christmas and party games and a big finale on the Sunday.

For more local Clarence Valley news, click here.

Advertisements

Clarence Valley News

NSW BUDGET: NOTHING FOR RICHMOND AND CLARENCE VALLEYS COST OF LIVING CRISIS, BUT SOME WINS

Published

4 weeks ago

27 June 2024

Liam

Advertisements

NSW BUDGET: NOTHING FOR RICHMOND AND CLARENCE VALLEYS COST OF LIVING CRISIS, BUT SOME WINS

The NSW Labor Government’s 18 June Budget does nothing to alleviate the growing cost of living problems in the Richmond and Clarence Valleys, although there is some good news for the region, according to Clarence Nationals MP Richie Williamson.

“Everywhere I go, every local I talk to, they all say the same thing: we’re struggling with rising costs – why isn’t the Government helping?” Mr Williamson said.

Mr Williamson said that he was all for working cooperatively with the Government, but there was mounting evidence Sydney Labor is “out of town, out of touch and the budget is out of control”.

“Calls to reinstate the $250 fuel card for regional seniors, students and apprentices have fallen on deaf ears, but Sydney seniors now enjoy $2-a-day Gold Passes on Sydney’s massive and massively subsidised public transport system as well as toll relief for Sydneysiders,” Mr Williamson said.

“Calls to save the Ulmarra ferry from Labor’s axe met a similar fate, at the same time as Labor is buying a fleet of new ferries for Sydney and took over another Sydney ferry service that has lower patronage than Ulmarra to Southgate.”

Mr Williamson did acknowledge the Government’s ongoing funding of the previous Liberals and Nationals Government’s Grafton Base Hospital rebuild, the allocation of $6.2m in the fight against White Spot disease in local rivers as well as a “welcome” $90m boost for the Resilient Homes Program, following the 2022 floods.

“These are crumbs compared to what Labor is lavishing on its Sydney heartland,” Mr Williamson cautioned.

“The Richmond and Clarence Valleys provide the timber for Sydney homes, the beef for Sydney dinners as well as the sugar and milk for Sydney cappuccinos.

“That needs to be acknowledged and we deserve our fair share,” Mr Williamson concluded.”

For more Richmond Valley news, click here.

Advertisements