Last night, the Eurobodalla Coast Alliance (ECA) elected ex-Eurobodalla Councillor Milton Leslight as its new president. Mr Leslight’s appointment follows the resignation of Russell Schneider A.M. who headed the local lobby group for the past two years. Russell will continue to work within the Alliance, but found “the time involved as president, with all his other duties, was more than he could sustain”. Milton Leslight says that he has been handed the reins of the organisation at a critical time for coastal property owners. According to the new president, “Coastal Management remains the ECA’s key issue. As the provisions of the new NSW Coastal Management Act start to bite, many coastal property owners are faced with the loss of their property rights and eventually the loss of their properties, without compensation”. As a licenced real estate agent in Batemans Bay, the new president said that he could not understand Council and the NSW Government’s action in declaring the entire Batemans Bay foreshore and CBD a “coastal vulnerability area” under the new Act. “This is economic suicide” said Leslight, “we are already receiving reports of huge insurance increases in these areas”. Mr Leslight is keen to work with Council and the local member to reach a sensible outcome to the affected ratepayers, but is concerned that neither Council or the state government politicians are able to control the public servants driving the Government’s draconian and destructive coastal management policies. Authorised and released by: Eurobodalla Coast Alliance
