COUNCILLOR CALLS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON SHELL COVE

PRESSRELEASE PRESSRELEASE PRESSRELEASE PRESSRELEASE PRESSRELEASE

Cr Peter Moran of Shellharbour City Council today urged the community to contact all the councillors and ask for the Council's Community Engagement Policy to be used in relation to the Shell Cove marina.

"For nearly twenty years Council has been telling the community that the Marina will be built using project funds. Not once have they ever actually asked the community if they want the marina. The Council has failed time and time again to deliver on this project, with missed deadlines and unrealised expectations. Now Council wants to commit the community to commercial risk based on heroic assumptions that even their own expert reports do not support" said Cr Moran.

"If the community supports this project, well so be it. The community should also be asked what services they are prepared to forego if the overly-optimistic assumptions prove to be inaccurate. Are we prepared to see swimming pools closed to help fund the marina? Do we accept that sports field fees will have to rise if the project fails to deliver on expectations?"

"I call on community members to contact all Councillors and ask for the Council's Community Engagement Policy (Level 3) to be used. This policy is to be used in cases of major projects that have a city-wide impact. There is no point having such a policy if it is not used. Given that the Council has never asked the community's opinion on this, let alone are we prepared to pay for it, now is surely the time to consult with the residents.

Clr Peter Moran (the good one)
Shellharbour City Council
0403 752838    

Shell Cove Business Park

Nick Hartgerink (“NBN puts us up with the best” Merc 1/8/11) is impressed with the potential of the National Broadband Network. Nick recognizes the opportunities for employment created by super fast connections, opportunities centred around IT businesses. I feel the same way and hope we in the Illawarra do not lag behind the rest of the country as we do in so many other areas of the economy.

There is one way in which we can seize the day and give ourselves a head start.

The Shell Cove project involves a Business Park that Shellharbour Council expects will create 1000 permanent full-time jobs. The Council tells us the Park is dependent on the construction of the marina. Sadly not one of the jobs in this Park will be delivered before 2018 under the current plans, and most do not expect these jobs to come on-line until at least 2020.

Instead of waiting for the marina to be built I believe we could accelerate construction of the Business Park. Instead of hoping for Federal and State Gov’t funds to help build the Marina we should be asking the Federal Gov’t for help to connect the Park to the NBN which is coming on line just 4km down the road at Minamurra. Instead of waiting at least 6-8 years for these jobs we could start to create them next year.

If we had a brand new business park with connection to the NBN the Shellharbour area would be in a position to capitalise on a new way of doing business and attracting employment. We could have the first employment generating development in close proximity to a major population centre hooked into the NBN.

What is more likely to attract new businesses to our area – a nice view or a new way of engaging in the economy?

Let us take the Shellharbour area forward into a jobs-rich future by taking advantage of the exciting new opportunities on our doorstep.