Fast Buck$, Coorabell
I can’t forgive Aslan Shand, The Echo Letters editor, for concluding my letter with the suggestion that releasing the bypass information ‘would only invite a local challenge’. Clearly I wrote ‘legal challenge’ [in the handwritten letter]. The Echo’s version isn’t even cogent.
My point was that Council staff refuse to release information about what they’ve done in terms of complying with the Land and Environment Court’s environmental orders because they do not intend to comply.
If they released their plans they would immediately be subject to legal challenge in terms of an injunction. Their plan is to keep their plans secret until the last moment and then move in quickly to do the environmental damage so that it is ‘too late’ in the eyes of objectors. This is a tried and tested method and they used it a couple of weeks ago to chop trees on Butler Street.
As for the mayor’s response in last weeks Echo I can only say that It’s a typical evasion, undoubtedly crafted, once again, by Council’s skilled lawyers. The first part appears to refer only to the current stage of construction, being the Butler Street section, not the wetlands.
The second part seems to relate to the wetlands but refers only to ‘pre-construction management plans’ – which is not the essence of what the court requires. These plans, we are told, have been submitted to Council for approval. In other words your elected duds have not yet voted to accept them – but they will, oh they will, simply because not one of them has the guts to really challenge the mayor in any case.
It seems to me that your elected councillors should be prepared to release such plans to the public. They can’t be confidential until a vote to that effect has taken place – and in that event they must give reasons as to why it should be kept secret.
Meanwhile Councillor Lyon has pleaded with us to look for positives. Accordingly I now lead a rousing rendition of that classic Monty Python chorus: ‘Always look on the bright side of life!…’ repeat, repeat…
♦ Aslan notes: Perhaps it is time you confronted your logizomechanophobia, Mr Buck$, then all misinterpretations would be resolved.
