Thursday’s Tweed Shire Council (TSC) meeting saw the decision on the contentious Hastings Point Wastewater Treatment Plant proposal deferred.
Tweed Council staff had recommended option 4 for adoption while a strong community opposition had been pushing for option 5 which they stated would have better environmental, noise, and odour outcomes.
Nationals candidate for Richmond in the upcoming federal election and Tweed Shire councillor and TSC Kimberly Hone was quick to propose the community supported option 5.
‘I am confident, based on the numerous correspondence that I have received personally from locally affected residents, that they are happy to have their rates increased if it means protecting their beach and their waterways,’ said Cr Hone.
At this point Cr Hone did not have a seconder for her motion.
Independent Mayor Chris Cherry followed this saying, ‘At the risk of upsetting everybody, I’d like to move an amendment. Which, unfortunately, isn’t going straight to option 5, but is doing some of the things that the peer review has asked us to do.’
Cr Cherry then acknowledged the community petition that had around 3,000 signatures, before telling the meeting that, ‘as we heard from the public speaker today on this that the peer review clearly highlights that insufficient work has been done to date to justify the selection of option 4. I believe the same is true of option 5.
Impact of water rate increase
‘At the moment, I don’t feel like we, as a council, have got enough information to be able to just go straight to option 5, as much as I’d like to, I’d like to be popular. I’d like to be just saying, “yes”. But at the end of the day, we are talking about maybe $20 million.’
Cr Dr Nola Firth emphasised the need to talk to the ‘whole community’ about the potential increase of rates.
The question of the rate increase being across the whole community, or just the rate base benefiting from the upgrade, was also raised.
Cr Cherry highlighted that for some businesses that use a lot of water and an increase in water rates would potentially have a significant impact on their business models. Cr Cherry said that she believed further investigation of option 4 and 5 was the best way forward so that more information was available for councillors to make a decision.
Staff made clear that to achieve increased clarity on cost estimates and on the two options would cost between $400,000 to $500,000 dollars. Councillors voted to investigate the two options 4 and 5 with Cr Hone voting against.
Community campaigners ‘disappointed’
Community campaigners made it clear they were ‘disappointed’ with the councillors decision to commission a further report and seek more information about the options available.
‘This decision will cause a delay of at least three months before the upgrade can proceed.
‘Almost 3,000 petition signatures were tabled from the communities of Pottsville, Cabarita/Bogangar, Round Mountain and Hastings Point, urging the council to choose the best available option for the environment,’ they stated.
‘Option 5 is the preferred community option.’
Campaign leader David Buick says the cheaper Option 4, pushed by council officers, will never deliver the environmental performance the community is happy with.
‘Councillors are also concerned about setting a precedent and a community push to have this better technology installed at all the other plants,’ he said.
‘Councillors all publish their green credentials during election time but are more concerned about taking any action that could result in even a minor rate increase to ratepayers, despite the significant environmental benefit to the community.
‘The $500,000 to be spent on further studies would have been better spent delivering Option 5, and not wasted on trying to justify Option 4.
‘If external state or federal funding was available, then Option 5 would get the tick straight away, so it is all about the dollars.’
Round Mountain campaigner Michael DeGood believes that community representation and collaboration with council in the next round of consultancy is crucial.
‘Every Tweed Coast residents’ association and relevant environmental group, and thousands of residents, have provided Council with a resounding message. Not only is this issue of paramount importance but fierce support backs the best-performing Option 5,’ he said.
‘The campaign has in place an engineering and environmental team. Council can’t ignore that, for transparency and best outcome, direct community representation must be accommodated.’
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