Representatives from South West Rocks, along with dozens of coastal towns in New South Wales, have rallied together to protect our coastline against irresponsible development.
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Voices of South West Rocks (VoSWR) only needed 500 signatures to get their petition to defend our coastline tabled in the Upper House of NSW Parliament. They received 1,180.
And they weren't alone.
Close to 3,000 signatures were collected across multiple petitions presented at parliament on Thursday, August 24, from mobilised community groups up and down the east coast of New South Wales.
Over 30 community groups have come together to form a new alliance, Coastal Residents United (CRU), fighting against inappropriate developments with a focus on 'Zombie DAs'.
With the launch of the CRU comes a call for action to protect and preserve habitat and precious native species threatened with extinction from destruction through a change in legislation.
Larah Kennedy and Felicity O'Neill represented Voices of South West Rocks at the launch, meeting with other community groups with a shared focus of defending their small coastal towns with pockets of sensitive and endangered bush-land.
Many of the developments being opposed by CRU are so-called 'Zombie DAs'.
These are development applications approved decades ago for work allowed to go-ahead nowadays, and therefore escaping the need for any environmental, cultural or other impact assessments required under modern-day planning laws.
"Most if not all the community groups that turned up [at parliament] are dealing with at least one Zombie DA," Ms O'Neill said.
The petition presented by VoSWR calls on NSW Government to order a moratorium on all DAs in South West Rocks that are older than 5 years; review all DAs older than 5 years to amend them to comply with current State Environment Planning Policy; protect koala and wildlife habitat including hollow-bearing trees.
Along with the petition, Ms Kennedy presented a case study on the multiple developments in South West Rocks, including Rise Projects development on Phillip Drive recently given the green light with a consent for construction from Kempsey Shire Council.
This approval came after the land was clear-felled based off a 1993 DA.
While the Rise development is just one of many developments in South West Rocks, and one of numerous Zombie DAs in New South Wales to spark the conversation, Ms O'Neill believes it has been the most prominent in mobilising the community.
"I think that the clearing of the land there opened a lot more of the community's eyes as to what is actually going on around South West Rocks," she said.
Concerns for the coastline is spreading, with South West Rocks being a case-study for other communities in the state.
"A lot of the communities are only facing one development...I think a lot of those communities were shocked at how many developments South West Rocks is facing and the magnitude of what that means for our community," Ms O'Neill said.
Ms Kennedy and Ms O'Neill say they are feeling the power in people and positive momentum with the launch of the alliance.
"Joining Coastal Residents United gives us the opportunity to see that we're not alone, and it's a way for us to connect the dots all along the coast of New South Wales," Ms O'Neil said.
"We're able to mobilise ourselves, united together, to help not only our community but other communities that are facing similar issues.
"We're part of something bigger. We're not the only community facing these challenges."
Ms Kennedy says VoSWR and CRU aren't "saying no" to all developments.
"What we would like to see is that areas of high environmental value are protected," she said.
"That developments include wildlife corridors, and that these Zombie DAs that are based on out-dated environmental planning policy aren't able to come back to life and completely clear-fell sites."
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