Council letter failed to arrive
KANGAROO BAY PROJECT
CLARENCE Mayor Doug Chipman advised that everyone who would be affected by the new development in Bellerive was notified by letter prior to any decision. Wrong. Not one person I know who lives within 500m of this monstrosity received any such letter.
Make sure this decision comes back to bite each and every councillor who voted for this, and that they get their just desserts at the next council elections.
The irate meeting raised, with Mayor Doug Chipman, the seeming duplicity and inappropriateness of the dealings surrounding the proposal and the rushed approval with media fanfare for politicians.
Many Eastern Shore residents, and even greater Hobart residents, might not be aware that the Kangaroo Bay Shandong Chambroad Holdings Co. Ltd/Hunter Developments proposal will lie along Cambridge Rd between approximately the Bellerive Yacht Club and the overpass.
The apparently approved building will butt immediately on to the footpath of Cambridge Rd, is something in excess of 82m long and five to six storeys high, at a height between 10.5m and 14m, depending on whose explanation one believes. It will not have the required number of parking spaces for a building of that size. An ugly monolith slapped in a scenic seaside bay, which does, and could, keep the charm and style of say Sausalito in California.
But no, our politicians local and state, have now manoeuvred planning rules to the extent that the Mayor appeared hamstrung and could only say the council had abided by the legal rules and regulations imposed on it by the State Government. Despite having to admit that the building did not comply with many aspects of council’s policies, rules and requirements.
Given there are further plots of public land in the eye of Clarence City Council and developers, the citizenry will need to keep an alert and cynical eye on all things and contemplate more direct community action. Well done to the people who raised this matter and for Rosalie Woodruff for a professional and personable chairing of the public meeting.
Carbon-capture con
ENERGY Minister Josh Frydenberg’s continued support for “clean coal” is puzzling. Carbon capture at coal-fired power stations will not happen without a strong carbon tax. Yet he continues to create false stories to con us.
Minority mayhem
WHY not have a day and a representative body for Muslims or gays or women or Hawk supporters (are there any left?). Where will this nonsense end? Time to abandon this thinking and allow the existing representative body to represent the values and aspirations of voters as opposed to being directed by the political class of so-called experts.
Labor labouring
LABOR Senator Helen Polley is hardly in a position to lambaste the Liberals on the GST. Her party opposed the rivers of gold at every chance. Think back to Paul Keating or Kim Beazley’s rollback. If left to Labor, we would be going cap in hand each year to premiers’ conferences for special grants.
Trillion dollar question
NOT many years ago, everything was quoted in thousands, then it went up to millions, now billions are thrown around like confetti. Can anyone tell me what is the next level?