The Yerriyong area in the city of Shoalhaven on the beautiful South Coast of NSW Australia is under threat. It has been deemed of “high environmental significance” by the Office of Environment and Heritage with 39 state and federally listed threatened species, old growth forest, over 500 hollow bearing trees, a sandstone forest AND Aboriginal cultural significance. This needs to be protected from development and destruction, some of those threatened species could become endangered or critically endangered.
Not to mention the development which is being proposed for this site. Currently, Shoalhaven City Councilors are allowing blank cheuques for this development with no real plans in place for what the development will be or how much it will cost. The business case which has been hidden from public view, is filled with great thoughts but no real evidence to back up any claims of job creation, revenue or future prospects. This proposal has been bouncing around for ten years with the previous developer withdrawing their application due to (apparently) various reasons, one being the inability to develop on the site due to the federal EPBC Act.
Rate payers would potentially be up for a minimum of $13 million in biodiversity offsets, $8.5 million EPBC fine for knowingly destroying threatened species, investing in a declining industry where other facilities are losing money annually and councils are propping them up, paying for all necessary surveys and reports which have already been completed and taking all the risk with no known ROI.
So please, sign this petition to help protect this highly valuable piece of land which belongs to ALL of us, not just a few. Ensure Shoalhaven City Council spends YOUR money responsibly without raising rates even further, and let council know you do not want this land destroyed and that your voice deserves to be heard!
This petition will be given to Mayor Amanda Findlay, all Councilors, General Manager Russ Pigg, Economic Development Manager Greg Pullen and relevant staff.
Thank you.
