A public meeting will be held on Sunday 18th November at 2pm at Captain Oldrey Park, Broulee to raise awareness and engage with the community about the effects of the proposed Rural Lands Strategy (RLS). This meeting follows on from that held at Mossy point and the recent meeting at Mogo which was facilitated by the shadow Minister for Primary Industries Mick Veitch and the ALP candidate for Bega Leanne Atkinson. 70 people representing over a dozen community groups met with Leanne Atkinson - ALP candidate for Bega, and Shadow Minister for Primary Industry, Mick Veitch for a full and frank discussion that lasted over an hour. Residents were expressing their frustrations with Eurobodalla Shire ( especially around the Rural Lands Strategy and the council's refusal to take into account changes suggested by the expert state agencies) and what they perceive to be a lack of interest from Andrew Constance's office. Since the Council voted to accept changes in the Rural Land's Strategy Andrew Constance's office has rec'd over 800 letters objecting to the changes and asking him to ask the State Minister for Planning, Anthony Roberts not to allow the changes.
The Eurobodalla Shire is pushing on with its contentious RLS with Mayor Liz Innes repeatedly assuring residents that “it's a done deal” and no further action from the Public will make any difference. In fact the changes require sign off by the NSW Planning Minister, Anthony Roberts and with a state election coming up in March there is plenty that can be done. People concerned about the nature of development in our shire are welcome to come along to this public meeting. Speakers, community group stalls and maps on display will help the public identify the areas concerned and what's being proposed. In a nut shell - the proposal will open up land to development across the whole shire and will impact adversely on coastal land, wetlands of national significance like Waldron's Swamp and areas known to contain threatened species like the Yellow Bellied Glider. The RLS proposes to change the zoning, watering down environmental constraints important for protecting these wetlands and other areas of high conservation value. It will open up land for development which may significantly change the character of many areas of our shire. Many businesses that rely on the natural part of the Nature Coast could be adversely affected. Many of the areas that will become open to development are sites that back onto our waterways. This will affect water quality, fish stocks, oyster beds, and adversely impact our estuaries and beaches. Oyster growers are also very concerned about the impact of the proposed changes, noting that the pristine waterways of the Shire are of utmost importance to their businesses, and that increased development along creeks, rivers and lakes will endanger this multi million dollar Eurobodalla industry. The cumulative impact of this RLS together with other proposed developments will adversely affect the nature of the Nature Coast. The meeting is on Sunday 18th November at 2pm at Captain Oldrey Park, Broulee
