Newsletter May/June 2010 - 11.06.2010
FOMRE Newsletter - May 2010
‘The Winter Phase of the Moore River Estuary.'
Summer Campaign Success.
First of all a big thank you to our many members, of all ages, who helped to make our three town visitations such a success. The resulting nearly 100 petition sheets are still being tabled in the House of Assembly by friendly members so that, almost daily, every member present is reminded that the Government has a problem at Moore River. Grant Woodhams MLA confirms that this is being most effective in keeping the issue alive and he strongly advises us to keep the petitions flowing in.
So please help us with this by finding new friends to sign the petition form, which you can get off our website. Please do not use any old forms of petition to the Legislative Council. If you aren't on the web just ask us to send you a couple of forms, always keeping one of these clean to photocopy off if you need to. You can either hand the completed form to your local MLA's office, or send them to our P.O. Box 1007, Guilderton 6041.
ABC talk with Premier.
This steady flow of petitions no doubt contributed to the fact that, when I reached the Premier on air on the ABC on February 10th, he was clearly right on top of the issue as he said, "Mr John Day has scaled back the proposal quite dramatically; it is not on the Moore River, it is well back probably a kilometre or so........" and responded categorically to my question about future spread with "No, no, it can't spread to the Moore River; that area will not be developed".
A sketch map from the developer's website (http://mooreriversouthdevelopment.com) confirms the first statement. However, in its handout, the developer says "the initial stages will be orientated to the ocean and not visible from Guilderton". (My emphasis). While we continue to oppose all urban development on the south of the Estuary, the protection of a broad swathe of river frontage is a great improvement on the earlier plans for development right to the river bank. We need to make sure the riverside area is protected in perpetuity.
Two important meetings.
On Friday, April 23rd, Linda Johnson and I joined three GCA committee members at a well-attended meting of the Lower Coastal Communities Association (LCCA) at Sovereign Hill. The meeting had been called to meet Grant Woodhams, our local MLA. David Burt, the acting Shire CEO of Gingin, was present. A range of important issues was raised with Grant, among them:
Health services in the Lower Coastal area are needed, possibly provided by a nurse practitioner. The hope was expressed that suitable premises might be built in a future services hub just north of the Guilderton turn-off.
Increased traffic and its associated problems on the main road once the Indian Ocean Drive is completed late in 2010.
The Plunkett development; the need to work for the riverside land to be protected from future development and made into an A class reserve. It was particularly pleasing to find all the other communities now so supportive of our stance. Grant Woodhams strongly encouraged us to keep the petitions flowing in as they are clearly having the desired effect of keeping the issue before all parliamentarians.
On Tuesday, April 27th, Linda and I had an hour's meeting with the Hon Dr Sally Talbot MLC, Labor spokesman on Planning, the Environment and other issues. Kindly arranged by Lisa Baker MLA, in her Inglewood office, we were able to give Sally a full briefing on the past story and the present situation. We found Sally most sympathetic and hope she will be able to raise searching questions with the various Ministers concerned.
WHAT CAN YOU DO while we wait for the ODP?.
Keep Moore River Estuary issue alive.
Petitions. We fully expected the developer's Outline Development Plan (ODP) to appear before the end of the summer. We can only guess at the reasons why this has not occurred. While we wait we have to try to maintain both the interest of our members and our pressure on Government. Continuing the flow of petitions is one way of doing so.
Letter writing. Another thing we want to do is to have as many members as possible writing their own letters to the relevant Ministers, copying them to your local MLA to keep the issue alive in front of all members of the Assembly. Please act on this.
How to Write.
Short letters.
Single point letters (though you can add more if you wish).
The important thing is that each of the three relevant Ministers receives many different individual letters. If two or more family members write, they should write quite different letters. Hand-written letters may be even more effective than beautifully typed ones! If the letter you write is relevant to more than one Minister's portfolio, you can send the same letter to both.
Clearly headed letters: "Re Proposed urban development on the south side of the Moore River estuary", so that even those who do not really read the letter know what issue it is about. And remember to copy it to your own MLA.
What to Write - a few ideas.
Invitation to Moore River to see the beauty of the area. (None of the three Ministers has accepted our invitation to come and see the estuary by boat. Why?)
Zoning questions. Protection of the riverside area raises questions of zoning for all three Ministers. What zoning does the Planning Minister intend to give the river shore area in order to give effect to the Premier's statement on air? The nearest thing to permanent protection from development is provided by zoning it an A class reserve, which would require a special act of Parliament. Then only a further act of Parliament could remove the protection.
Environmental care and recreational use questions. Ask these of the Environment Minister and the Tourism Minister. Your family's use of the Desert could be a good story to use. The need to preserve the Estuary as a recreational facility argues against any urban development on the south side of the Estuary. Please note the key word "urban". FOMRE does not oppose development on the south side of the river for eco-tourism or recreational purposes. Nor do we oppose urban development to the north and east of the town. Our opposition to the Company's proposal is based on our conviction that this would be urban development in the wrong place.
Increasing popularity and use of the Estuary during holiday periods and the issues this raises. All three ministers need to be concerned with this.
Perth's urban sprawl. The Planning Minister should be concerned that approving the Company's ODP could open the way to further extending the vast footprint of Perth; something the Minister himself has publicly expressed concern. He could also be asked why he so high-handedly published his intention to approve the development, when the planning was clearly so far from complete!
That should be enough to start your imagination. You will find many other issues raised on our website and in the leaflets we have been handing out.
Where to Write.
The Hon. John Day MLA, Minister for Planning,
13th Floor, Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, WEST PERTH WA 6005
The Hon. Donna Faragher, MLC, Minister for the Environment,
10th Floor, Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, WEST PERTH WA 6005
The Hon. Dr Elizabeth Constable, Minister for Tourism,
19th Floor, Governor Stirling Tower, 197 St Georges Terrace, PERTH 6000
Get details of your local member from the telephone directory or the Web.
Thanks you for your ongoing interest and support
FOMRE Committee
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