Hans Lovejoy
Those operating a tourist-related business in Brunswick Heads be warned: it’s unlikely local MP Don Page will defend your activity from being taken over by the NSW government-run North Coast Holiday Parks (NCHP).
Last week, Echonetdaily reported that Brunswick Buccaneer boat hire operator Ilan Schnitzler is facing eviction from the NCHP, recently renamed to the NSW Crown Holiday Parks Trust.
But Mr Page is refusing to intervene, an indication that NCHP manager Jim Bolger operates with impunity and is unaccountable to elected politicians.
Emails obtained by Echonetdaily show that despite having authority of Banner Park and the waterways opposite the pub where the boats are located, Crown Lands also palmed responsibility of the waterways and foreshore to NCHP.
And while Crown Lands, under deputy premier Andrew Stoner (Nationals), did not reply to Echonetdaily questions, Mr Page did. He said, ‘I am advised that the [Brunswick Buccaneer’s] licence had expired some time ago.’
But it’s advice that is at complete odds with Mr Schnitzler’s solicitor, Claire Lovejoy. She said the licence ‘never expired and was instead terminated’.
‘There is a clear difference between “expired” and “wrongfully terminated”,’ she said.
Mr Page then suggested that NCHP’s plan of management (POM) for the surrounding foreshore, now on public exhibition, could be an avenue to lobby his cause.
‘The operator, like all other interested parties, is able to make a submission as to the most appropriate future use for the site,’ he said. ‘Any future licence will be granted through a competitive tender process,’ Mr Page said.
While Echonetdaily is unaware of other ‘interested parties’ wanting to hire boats in that location, kayak hire is now available at the NCHP’s Terrace Reserve Holiday Park, located a couple of hundred metres up the creek.
The surprise announcement that Mr Schnitzler’s established business would now be subject to a tender process comes without warning and is not even mentioned in NCHP’s plans of management.
And while there is no mention of the Brunswick Buccaneer either, there are concrete walkways and park extensions earmarked for the immediate area.
Conflict of interest
Questions remain unanswered as to whether this is a case of ‘making it up as you go along’ governance, as well as a conflict of interest.
When asked whether it was a conflict of interest to operate a commercial venture while issuing a licence for a similar private business close by, Mr Page said, ‘If they are hiring kayaks,’ he said, ‘then whether there is a commercial conflict of interest – or not – is a legal matter that would require appropriate legal advice.
‘I am therefore not able to answer your question on conflict of interest.’
Disclosure: Mr Schnitzler’s solicitor is a relative of the reporter
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