A small but passionate crowd of about 100 people attended the Saltwater re-zoning protest meeting in South West Rocks on Sat-urday, where organiser Damon Baker urged them to continue their opposition to the proposed development.

Greens NSW upper house MP Sylvia Hale addressed the meeting and said she shared the concerns of the townfolk that a residential subdivision on the Saltwater site threatened the ecology of the lagoon as well as several endangered species of plants and animals.

She said there had been a gradual erosion of the planning and development laws in the past 30 years, leading to a situation up and down the New South Wales coast where bad planning decisions by state and local government were causing damage to coastal ecosystems.

The Member of the Legislative Council also questioned the influence developers had on the approval process through donations to political parties and candidates.

Ms Hale called on Kemp-sey Shire Council and the Minister for Planning to reject the rezoning or at the very least hold a public hearing on the matter bef-ore the rezoning proposal was determined.

Several people in the audience were concerned about the impact of the proposed development on the town’s infrastructure; water supply and sewage treatment services would be placed under more strain, they said.

A local doctor said the medical and dental services available locally were already inadequate and approval for the Saltwater development would only make things worse.

Protest organiser Dam-on Baker urged people to make their feelings known to their councillors and to continue the campaign.