THE TWEED SHIRE Volume 2 #20 Thursday, January 28, 2010 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
The Liveliest letters in The Shire LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Highrise plans spark backlash Ken Sapwell
Celebrating a nation Tweed mayor Warren Polglase and brand new Aussie, Renato Postumo, of Fingal Head, not only share a common Italian heritage, but they also shared a joke after the citizenship ceremony. Renato, a 30-year-old industrial electrician from Italy, has spent seven years in Australia before becoming an Australian citizen on Tuesday. Friends including girlfriend Tamara gave Renato a loud cheer when he was presented with his citizenship certificate. Cr Polglase’s grandfather migrated from Italy to South Australia before World War II. Photo Luis Feliu Luis Feliu
Thousands of Tweed locals hit the great outdoors to celebrate Australia Day on a warm and summery Tuesday this week, enjoying some typical Aussie culture, fun, fare and a little reflection. A naturalisation ceremony for the shire’s 27 new Australian citizens and presentation of the shire’s Australia Day Award winners was the highlight of the official event at Burringbar Public School while breakfast barbecues, tea and damper, local award presentations, flag raising, cricket games, cycle races, novelty events and sports, bush music and poetry and traditional craft displays were the order of the day at Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Kingscliff, Pottsville, Cabarita/Bogangar, Tyalgum, Tumbulgum and Uki celebrations.
Many other residents enjoyed the sunshine-filled holiday with families and friends at home, in the backyard, at a park or the beach. A crowd of more than 600 people turned out to the Burringbar Public School ceremony, including Richmond MP Justine Elliot, Tweed MP Geoff Provest and Tweed mayor Warren Polglase, who conducted the citizenship ceremony. Cr Polglase said the new citizens came from nations around the globe, including Russia, New Zealand, Ireland, Thailand, US, Italy, Germany and Brazil. He said they had joined four million other migrants from over 200 countries who now call Australia home. Bundjalung elder Aunty Kath Lena, who conducted the welcome to country, said Australia Day was ‘not just
about barbecues and beaches... learn our culture then you can say you are Australian,’ she said. Reverend Andrew Unwin said the day marked the arrival of the First Fleet and beginning of a new culture and colony with ‘eleven ships full of unwanted boat people who didn’t even want to be here’. Tweed Shire Australia Day Committee chairman Don Beck and the shire’s Australia Day Ambassador Glenn Sargeant presented the shire’s Australia Day awards, with the citizen of the year award going to Murwillumbah resident Chris Chrisostomos. Mr Beck said Chris was a highly valued and very active member of Murwillumbah Central Rotary and had given generously of his time and effort on a whole range of projects, continued on page 4
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Plans to turn Tweed Heads into a mirror image of the Gold Coast with twin towers book-ending both ends of the town have begun to trigger a major public backlash. Residents have swamped The Echo with inquiries since the government’s 25-year vision for the town was unveiled to a handful of councillors and media in a secretive flying visit by Lands Minister Tony Kelly last week. Laurie Ganter, a community representative on the government’s six cities taskforce and president of the town’s residents’ association, said feedback from locals to the draft Tweed Heads LEP so far had not been positive. He said residents were coming out strongly against some of the building height changes in the southern part of the town at odds with those contained in the widely accepted 2004 master plan which the government refused to implement. ‘Most of the concern centres on plans for two 24-storey high rise towers to straddle the southern approach to the town surrounded by new eleven and nine-storey buildings west of Wharf Street,’ he said. ‘While people don’t seem to be too worried about higher buildings in the commercial centre they believe a threestorey height limit should be retained for the southern part of the town. ‘There are also other anomalies in the plan, including a three-storey height restriction on the Tweed Heads Bowls Club and the council civic centre which has been classified as a heritage building ,’ he said. ‘At this stage it appears there is little scope for any expansion of the civic centre to meet future needs. ‘As for a couple of phallic symbols
‘Still a country town’ ‘We believe Tweed Heads is still a country town and should not be swamped with wall-to-wall highrise in an attempt to make it an extension of the Gold Coast. But it appears that Department of Planning bureaucrats working in some dungeon in Sydney have decided to ignore the community’s views.’ A council spokesman said staff would hold information sessions about the draft Tweed Heads LEP as well as a more broad-ranging draft shire-wide LEP, starting next month. ‘There will also be static displays at various locations across the Tweed and the LEP documents are available now through Council’s website www. tweed.nsw.gov.au,’ he said. ‘The website provides the opportunity to view all the Draft LEP 2010 information and search out details relevant to your particular interest. ‘A CD with all the relevant information can also be obtained from council by telephoning or visiting one of council’s offices.’
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suddenly appearing in the southern part of town which was earmarked under the master plan for three storeys, well that’s only going to serve to block the views and breezes of those living on the hill behind.’ Mr Ganter said of all the stakeholders providing input to the taskforce appointed two years ago by Planning Minister Frank Sartor, only the Tweed Economic Development Corporation championed higher building heights. ‘Everyone else was telling them that the community’s views had not changed since an inquiry in the early 1980s established that highrise buildings should not block any views from the top of Razorback.
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