Council met with DHA back in 2014

Calls for release of DHA documents

A STAUNCH opponent of Defence Housing Australia’s plan for a 342 lot housing estate on the escarpment at Mount Lofty is calling for the Toowoomba Regional Council to “produce all documents relating to contact with DHA” ahead of a community meeting in the new year.

Heavily-redacted DHA documents obtained under the Right to Information Act and provided to The Chronicle show the council knew of DHA’s intentions for the former rifle range site at least as far back as July 2014.

One of the almost fully-redacted documents details minutes of a meeting between the council, Defence Housing Australia and the Department of Defence in the council chambers on July 31, 2014, “to discuss the future of the 379 hectare former Mt Lofty Rifle Range (site) and its potential allocation and sale, subject to approvals, to DHA and TRC”.

Having opposed the massive housing estate since he became aware of it in 2017, Mount Lofty resident Chris Meibusch said he was “particularly concerned as to the existence of minutes of a meeting in 2014 in the context of the council not sharing knowledge of this development with residents until 2017”.

He also said residents were entitled to see the terms of an undated and fully-redacted confidentiality deed “that the council entered into with DHA”.

Nearly 180 official submissions were received by the council during the project’s public notification period.

The council has called a public meeting on Thursday, January 24, from 3-4pm at The Annex for nominated community speakers to present their views on the DHA proposal.

Mr Meibusch called on the council to release to the community “all documents relating to contact with DHA”.

“Until that stage it’s not appropriate to have a meeting if we’re continued to be treated like mushrooms by the council,” he said.

The council was contacted for comment.