At the gateway to the former ‘City of Arts’, the centre of the ‘Green Cauldron’, the notorious yellow arches of the McDonald’s 24-hour restaurant complex will still be as big as a warehouse wall, superimposed on Mt Warning as an introduction to the town of Murwillumbah to visitors coming from the direction of Tweed and for shoppers returning from Tweed City, Bunnings and The Goodguys.
If they haven’t stopped at the first McDonald’s and BP to top up with fats and petrol, this is a second chance, only 15 minutes later to buy fats, fizzy drinks and this time groceries at the expanded IGA, without which approval for McDonald’s would have been unlikely. At least IGA is locally owned.
Will the tradespeople designing, building and maintaining the complex be local?
How many adults supporting families will be long-term employees?
What percentage of the food ingredients will come from local producers?
What higher education and career opportunities will be available for the young teenage workers?
Will Tweed Shire ratepayers foot the bill for late-night security/vandalism/crime?
Rubbish from KFC has been seen along the road and as far as Byangum bridge. Will this be a new source of rubbish?
For the benefit of the people already struggling with obesity from poor nutrition, the struggling food-businesspeople, and the locals and visitors who are attracted to the uniquely beautiful views of trees and mountains, please let’s find a way to reverse the approval and resist the powerful economic cudgel of another foreign-owned giant.
Ari Ehrlich, Tyalgum
