During the term of the previous NSW coalition state government a high-profile architect firm was asked to consider designs for a new hospital for Sydney. This firm spent over six months researching and finally presenting a prestige hospital design to the then NSW government. The one stipulation that governed had for this design was that under no circumstances was the hospital to be developed on a floodplain. This stipulation triggered the death of the submitted design of the proposed, much-needed hospital. One needs to ask ‘who gains’.
During this political period development of West Byron, a wetland floodplain of high conservation value was resisted by the Byron community. This area was also noted to contain lethal acid sulphate deposits, the very substance that defeated the proposed Club Med development in the 1990s. Indeed the Land and Environment Court (L&EC), in those days placed enormous value on the rights of nature to exist.
Miffed by the public protest which also supported the moral ethics of the rights of nature, a West Byron developer, aided by Byron Council took the West Byron development issue to the L&EC. By this time this legal structure had accepted a very muscular legal point of view, the concerned masses began to chant. ‘The Land and Environment Court’ always favours business! And so it did in the case of the proposed West Byron floodplain development! Despite public outcry.
Thus began a lethal virus as public democratic imperatives heaved in a terminal choke. The whole ‘pro-development’ process was described by a developer/investor as ‘woeful’.
Highly traumatised, mother nature informed that rape crisis centre that she was constantly mutilated by a terrifying stalker and she also deeply feared for drowning humanity.
Who could be gaining from all of the imposed destruction and fear? Indeed, huge parts of her body were being gouged and sold as the solution against floods. A well-known trader named Mr Fill… the conservative ‘fixer’ to any development process was seen at every state political development meeting. No ‘high-end hat’ could disguise his ‘Luciferian’ ears and horns!
Along came a new NSW government, aided by Mr Fill, the ‘fixer’ and the Premier, Mr Minns, who promised to make big democratic changes. But nothing changed, following a Minns dictate, at a recent meeting of Byron Councillors, the chaps were seen genuflecting as they sanctioned development of high conservation land for future housing on floodplains. A lethal precedent for future generations, and a future guarantee for highly traumatised homeless sentient beings. Whether it’s the left wing or the right wing, it’s the same development bird that dictates to all governments. A guarantee of head in the sand to democracy and future generations. There is a better way, consult First Nations engineers, value life, community, mother earth and the democratic process.
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. 
