Devastated gallery turns its back on councillors
The East Gippsland Shire Council voted at their 3 August 2010 meeting 5 to 3 in favour of proceeding to seek government approval for their controversial breakwater development at Bastion Point, Mallacoota. Councillors had just over one week to make their decision after receiving the final design and economic reports which have come under considerable criticism. See our Media Release and ABC news coverage, and Council Minutes.
Click on the photos below to see photos of the 60 people who travelled from Mallacoota, Melbourne and around Bairnsdale to oppose the development.
Council economic study flawed
SBPC commissioned Economists at Large to review an economic impact assesment written for East Gippsland Shire Council (EGSC) by public relations firm Buchan Consulting Pty Ltd. Economists at Large concluded the serious methodological problems within the Buchan economic impact assessment call into question the validity of the results. Buchan Consulting is the fourth company EGSC has commissioned to write an economic report on its proposed harbour development.
Alternative Concept
Save Bastion Point Campaign has presented an alternative concept for Bastion Point to East Gippsland Shire Council. It preserves the values of Bastion Point and enhances the amenity for users. This alternative is by no means a detailed design. It does however show that there are other better options besides the Option 3b breakwater development. We support the Inquiry Panel’s recommendation that the Council should establish a community advisory committee to be independently facilitated and whose role it would be to determine the most appropriate design solution for Bastion Point.
Council votes on 3 August 2010
East Gippsland Shire Council will vote on whether to submit their detailed breakwater and carpark design to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Gavin Jennings. Since Minister Madden’s assessment, Council has made engineering drawings of their proposed breakwater development, and also has commissioned a further economic study by Buchan Consulting Group. A safety study has placed major limitations on the proposed facility. See Current Proposal for details and downloads. Council will vote as per Agenda Item 5.3.2 at their meeting at 6 pm on 3 August in Bairnsdale as to whether to proceed with submission of their plans to Minister Jennings for approval under the Coastal Management Act.
Community Meeting continues fight
Almost 100 Mallacoota residents took part in a community meeting on 8 June 2010. They came to hear about the outcome of the Supreme Court case, to be informed about the current design, and to discuss future action. People left the meeting even more determined to continue the battle to save Bastion Point, and to have the Panel’s recommendations implemented.
Supreme Court Case Judgement
The judgement on Friends of Mallacoota vs Minister for Planning and Anor was delivered by Justice Osborn on 27 May 2010. Please see our Media Release in regard to the judgement.
The court case tested the legality of Minister Madden ignoring his own Independent Panel’s advice, which was to not proceed with this development and implement a lower impact solution at Bastion Point.
The case looked at administrative process, not the merits of the case, and found that Minister Madden had acted within the legal bounds of his responsibility.
However, Justice Osborn found ‘there is nothing in the material before the Court which supports the view that the Panel’s assessment was other than a careful, fair and balanced evaluation of all the material before it.’
The Save Bastion Point campaign will continue to lobby Minister Jennings to accept the Panel’s recommendations and reject the proposal under the Coastal Management Act.
The full judgement may be downloaded from our Resources page Friends v Madden, along with a plain language summary of the implications of the judgement.
Postcards presented to Minister Jennings
Supporters from Mallacoota and Melbourne braved a cold Melbourne day on 12 May 2010 to present 1400 postcards to Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Innovation, Gavin Jennings. Mallacoota-crafted sea creatures helped make the delivery.
The postcards asked the Minister to use his powers under the Coastal Management Act to stop the breakwater development. Spokesman Leo op den Brouw told Minister Jennings that the postcards represented the views of a broad section of the community.
The Minister was asked to give very careful consideration to the Inquiry Panel Report, and the Victorian Coastal Strategy in his decision. It was emphasised that the Minister has the responsibility under the Coastal Management Act for final consent, and that he should reject this proposal.
Minister Jennings thanked supporters for bringing the postcards to him, and promised to consider the campaign’s views when making his decision. He declined to give any further indication given the pending decision of the court case.
Supreme Court Case awaiting Decision
After just one day of sitting on 10 May, the Supreme Court has heard arguments from both legal teams, and we are expecting the decision to come sometime over the next weeks.
Friends of Mallacoota would like to thank our legal team for their great work, shown in the attached photo leaving the Supreme Court after presenting the case.
Please see Madden Decision Taken to Supreme Court for more information about the filing of the case.
Leo op den Brouw and Jenny Mason of FOM, barrister Richard Niall, Elizabeth McKinnon of EDO, and barrister Emily Porter outside the Supreme Court - photo Judith Loriente
1400 Postcards for Minister
On Wednesday 12 May from 10-10.30 am supporters will gather at 50 Lonsdale St to present to Minister for Environment Gavin Jennings 1400 postcards opposing the development at Bastion Point. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Help Bastion now – lobby kit available
Please download our new Lobby Kit to see how you can help our campaign!
International outdoors company Patagonia helps Bastion campaign
International outdoor equipment and clothing company Patagonia has featured the Bastion Point Campaign in their northern hemisphere summer 2010 Surfwear catalogue. Bastion Point is just one of the waves listed as ‘endangered’ by Save the Waves, and other waves in danger of destruction are also featured in the catalogue. Steve Wadsworth’s photo of Bastion Point will also be used in Patagonia’s US stores for their summer 2010 surfwear campaign.
Please download a reduced version (5 MB) of the Patagonia Catalogue here, which contains the Bastion Point article (p26), and other salient articles about losing surfbreaks.
Take note of the ‘Lessons Learned’ on Dana Point in California. Surfers were told that an artificial reef would replace the break – to make way for a breakwater harbour construction to provide ‘affordable boating’. Neither promise materialised.
And visit the Patagonia surfwear site to check out their surf gear!
Guy visits Mallacoota
Shadow Planning Minister Matthew Guy visited Mallacoota on 29 March 2010 for a fact finding mission on the Bastion Point issue. Around 200 community members came to demonstrate their opposition to the Bastion Point harbour development. Please see our Media Release, and click on the article headline to see photos by Michael Rayner.
Supreme Court Case now 10th May
Bastion Point and cynical planning politics
The Windsor Hotel redevelopment document accidentally leaked by Minister Madden’s media advisor (25 Feb 2010) reveals a strategy to undermine an advisory committee report, and manipulate a community consultation process. As you can see in the full Madden Media Plan, it also contains the line ‘ March 16 and 17 Bastian (sic) Point decision in Supreme Court’, with the following dot point -’Documents tabled on Feb 16 – will need cover as allegations against Minister’s actions’. Minister Madden tabled his submissions for the case on 16 February. See also Melissa Fyfe’s 7 Mar 2010 story in The Age regarding this wording.
Minister Madden has laid the blame on the media advisor, claiming it is an internal draft document. However, the leaked document names as ‘strategy’ a sham public consultation to undermine an advisory committee. Is this the type of background manipulation Minister Madden has employed with Bastion Point?
Bastion Point Issue on Show in Bairnsdale
Following January’s hugely successful exhibition and auction in Mallacoota of Norm Neilson’s Bastion Point photographs of Bastion Point, Norm has held an equally successful exhibition and auction in Bairnsdale.
The event made sales of around $10,000, and has helped greatly in spreading the word about what is happening at Bastion Point.
The exhibition made the front page of the East Gippsland News
Photo Exhibition a Huge Success
An exhibition and auction of Norm Neilson’s photos of Bastion Point was held at Mallacoota’s Mudbrick Pavilion from 21 to 23 January 2010, culminating in an auction event.
Over 400 people visited the exhibition. All of the 42 works were sold, resulting in over $10,000 being made for the campaign. See our media release here.
Norm’s works were also shown from 8-13 February at The Stables, 58 Service St Bairnsdale; please see the East Gippsland News report on this other hugely successful event. The invitation for the show may also be viewed.
Mallacoota Signs Up!
Visitors to Mallacoota over January 2010 will have noticed the large number of homes with signs expressing the community opposition to breakwalls, dredges, and beach roads at Bastion Point.
We know the signs have alerted many visitors to what is happening at Bastion Point.
Even the East Gippsland Shire Council is interested – an officer was spotted driving around taking photos of our signs!
Supreme Court Hearing – 16, 17 March 2010
The case of Friends of Mallacoota Inc. versus Minister for Planning, and Minister for Environment and Climate Change has been fixed for trial in the Supreme Court on 16 March 2010 for two days.
Members of the Public are welcome to attend.
See Madden Decision Taken to Supreme Court for more detail.
Council Begins so-called ‘Community Consultation’
Following East Gippsland Shire Council’s decision to proceed with design of the Option 3b breakwater and road along the beach, it has convened the ‘Mallacoota Ocean Access Boat Ramp Community Advisory Committee’, MOABRCAC. After much deliberation, we felt that there could be some benefit to being on this committee. We have written to Council expressing the following:
“Save Bastion Point Campaign has decided to nominate a representative to MOABRCAC on the condition that its participation in the Committee is not construed in any way as indicating:
· that Save Bastion Point Campaign believes that the Minister’s decision to approve the option 3b boat ramp was lawful
· that steps that have been taken to implement the Minister’s approval are legitimate
· that Save Bastion Point Campaign supports or endorses option 3b.
Save Bastion Point Campaign maintains its position that it is inappropriate for such a committee to be formed whilst the Minister’s assessment decision is the subject of a legal challenge in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Similarly, Save Bastion Point Campaign maintains its support for the Inquiry Panel’s recommendations.”
Council Begins Breakwater Design
Despite the Independent Panel recommendations and current legal action in the Supreme Court, East Gippsland Shire Council has called for tenders for the design phase of the Option 3b breakwater and over-beach road. An update will be posted when further details are known.
The Point Benefit Concert Rocks
The Point Benefit concert held in Mallacoota on 3 October 2009 was a great success. The venue was filled to capacity. The event was MC’d by Mick Bartholemew, introducing musicians such as Penelope Swales, Justin Brady, Mal Webb, Ross Webster, and the Mallacoota Jazz trio (Ken Vatcher, John Grunden and Mike Webb). Over $2,500 was raised for the campaign. A fantastic feeling of solidarity and support!
Hearing Date Set
The directions hearing for the judicial review of Minister Madden’s decision was held on 25 August 2009. A timetable was made setting out dates on which the defendants will provide their affidavit material in response to our application, and then further dates on which we will provide our arguments, and the defendants theirs. The hearing has been set down for no earlier than 9 March 2010.
Thankyou so much to all those who have donated to our fund – we are on the way, but would greatly appreciate further donations.
Madden Decision taken to Supreme Court
Friends of Mallacoota, a member group of Save Bastion Point Campaign, on 4 August 2009 filed proceedings in the Supreme Court seeking judicial review of Minister Madden’s June 2009 decision to ignore the advice of his own Independent Inquiry, and allow the breakwater development to proceed.
This is the first time in Victoria ’s history a community group has sought review of the Planning Minister’s Assessment under the Environment Effects Act in the Supreme Court.
Please see media releases from Friends of Mallacoota and ACF/VNPA. We would greatly appreciate donations to help fund our legal challenge.
Council Votes to Ignore Independent Panel Report
Council was to vote at its 7 July meeting on a motion by Councillor Bill Gamble, supporting the Independent Panel findings and calling on other councillors to follow the Panel’s suggested way forward for a low impact option.
However, at the packed meeting the motion was controversially ‘amended’ by Councillor Jane Rowe to instead support progressing the design of the Option 3b breakwater, with a subsequent amendment calling for futher safety and economic analysis. This motion was passed, with Councillor Gamble and Mayor Mendy Urie voting against.
See the minutes of the council meeting of 7 July 2009, and a full transcript is available here. The original recording of the meeting is available for those wishing to check the transcript is accurate.
The following month’s council meeting saw council proceeding with establishment of a community advisory committee to oversee some aspects of the design of Option 3b; see the minutes for 4 August 2009. This meeting also introduced the Terms of Reference for the community advisory committee.