Hill cleared of misleading land claims
THE independent council election watchdog has dismissed claims Mayor Jenny Hill had been “misleading” in the debate surrounding the controversial Lansdown Industrial Precinct.
Townsville City Council last week pushed efforts to create the new major industrial precinct in Woodstock up the chain of approval and into the hands of the State Government, despite some backlash from residents who feared the rezoning would impact their groundwater and lifestyle.
Asked why the Townsville State Development Area at Stuart was not being used instead of opening Lansdown, Cr Hill said parts of the TSDA would not be ready for years as it was flood-prone and there was about 500ha available.
Her comments were contradicted by the Department of State Development, which in December claimed the TSDA was “available immediately” without the need for fill.
This prompted mayoral candidate Sam Cox to make a complaint to the Independent Council Election Observer, alleging Cr Hill had stated falsehood and was “misleading the public” about the usability of the TSDA to try to direct industries to the Lansdown Industrial Precinct instead.
He said Cr Hill’s dismissal of State Government advice showed her “complete lack of commercial judgment”.
The ICEO dismissed the complaint on the basis that Cr Hill had not said “no land” was available at the TSDA.
But inquiries by the Bulletin with the Department of State Development have also confirmed that Cr Hill was partially correct.
“There is approximately 850ha of developable land in the TSDA … Fill will be required to meet relevant flood standards for most of this land,” a spokeswoman said.
Cr Hill has previously argued that the Lansdown Industrial Precinct would be needed so new job-creating industries could be attracted to Townsville.