Tweed shire’s Cr Barry Longland appears unable to discriminate between fiction and fantasy.
The largest petition in council’s history demanding revegetation of Black Rocks sports field www.tinyurl.com/4koalas) has amassed over 107,000 signatures but at the April council meeting Cr Longalnd said ‘I don’t acknowledge this so-called petition or the numbers involved’.
His crystal ball tells him that the signatories had no idea what they were signing and, because the majority of signatories were from overseas, the petition is invalid. So far 12,398 Australians have signed with thousands from Tweed Shire.
Does he realise it only takes 10,000 signatures to get a petition to parliament irrespective of whether he acknowledges it or not?
Cr Longland’s crystal ball informs him that Pottsville residents don’t want revegetation therefore no need to do a survey.
He claims a survey only creates confusion and misinformation about koala numbers yet council has not even counted koalas at Black Rocks/Pottsville Wetlands!
Nor does council show sufficient concern for koalas that have died of stress-induced chlamydia at Black Rocks to adopt a precautionary approach.
According to national koala expert Dr Steve Phillips, six koala deaths in two years is unsustainable for an estimated population of 15-35 when a loss of two-three per cent signals population decline. That means we can’t lose even one koala a year!
The 2015 koala habitat study concluded that coastal koala activity has ‘significantly declined.’ Since then they have been listed as Endangered.
It’s not unusual for council to ignore experts or community opinion. In fact four ecologists recommend revegetation. It looks suspiciously like council has a development agenda and koalas are simply in the way.
It’s obvious to me that Cr Longland does not care about what the community or the rest of the world wants, let alone the future of koalas at Black Rocks.
If he looks into his crystal ball once more he may see himself being voted out at the next election.
Menkit Prince, Uki
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
