At Monday’s (19 October) NRPP meeting on 57 Station Street, only three people, including current Cr Swain and Cr Ndiaye, spoke in favour of the development, almost exclusively because they say it will deliver affordable housing. No-one argues that need is genuine. The community actively supports affordable housing but overwhelmingly objects to this proposal. Four out of nine councillors have now listened and understood the community concerns. Cr Warth spoke to the NRPP about his reasons for no longer supporting the proposal.
Councillors Swain and Ndiaye failed to engage meaningfully on the technical concerns which have been raised over several years, starting with the farcical community engagement underpinning the project and its lack of social licence, through to a range of design issues that have persisted through various iterations.
The mayor once again tried to paint the objectors, in this case a majority of the local community, as being anti-affordable housing. She quoted the numbers of objectors to various proposals over the years, presumably in yet another effort to discredit the community. What a shame the effort to dredge up that irrelevant history hasn’t been put into meaningful community engagement through this exercise, or even trying to understand the technical concerns.
Cr Swain’s speech sounded to me like it was read from talking points for a state election. Again, no meaningful engagement on the many genuine concerns of the community, as has been the case for the duration of this project.
Meanwhile, community-supported sites better suited for affordable housing will be used by Council to build a replacement carpark. It’s like an episode of Utopia.
I objected to this proposal because it is poorly conceived and poorly enacted. The NRPP’s approval hasn’t changed that.
Paul Cholakos, Montecollum
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. 
