The Concept Plan for the Kings Forest development submitted to the State Government in late 2010 was supported by a Koala Plan of Management prepared by ecologist and noted koala expert Dr Frank Carrick AM.
His report did not recommend a ban on dogs in the development and the Concept Plan was approved without such a ban in early 2011. The State Government assessment was supported by input from the Office of Environment and Heritage, principally in relation to the requirements of SEPP 44 (the koala SEPP).
Following Concept Plan approval, the developer submitted the Preferred Project Application to the State Government in late 2011.
Given that there had been some disquiet expressed in some sections of the community regarding he standard of the Dr Carrick report, the developer sought the services of James Warren. James is a well respected ecologist who was given the task of preparing a Koala Plan of Management to support the Application.
Again, to address community concern about koala protection issues, the developer sought a supplementary report from local ecologist and renowned koala expert, Dr Stephen Phillips. Stephen was promoted by local koala interest groups as the man for the job and someone with great credibility when it came to koala management issues.
The Koala Plan of Management submitted with the Project Application and supported by the reports of both James Warren and Stephen Phillips, did not recommend a ban on dogs in the development.
The Tweed Shire sub-mission on the Project Application that was adopted at the Council Meeting of January 2012 did not call for a ban on dogs in the development but sought to place restrictions on the size and breed of dogs in the Kings Forest development.
The Stephen Phillips report also raised issues about dog size, recommending a 10kg limit on dogs. The Tweed Shire submission also included robust provisions concerning the separation of cars and koalas in the development, which was supportive of changes that the developer made to the development footprint that was approved in the Concept Plan.
These changes were directed at the avoidance of koala corridors and primary habitat and were supported by Tweed Shire Council officers and the Shire’s Koala Advisory Committee.
The draft submission on the Project Application from our officers did suggest a ban on dogs and was initially supported by both Cr Milne and myself.
However, it became very clear in debate that this was not favoured by a majority of Councillors, so other measures were explored via amendments to our submission. The final submission by this Council to the State Government on the Project Application (without the call for a ban on dogs) was supported by Crs Holdom, Skinner, Van Lieshout, Milne and Longland.
My current position on the matter, as expressed at the last meeting of Council, is that a total ban on dogs in the development is both impractical and unenforceable. To compare this development with Koala Beach, where there is a special rate levy to maintain its dog-free status, is misleading. In its final form, Kings Forest will be more than 20 times the size of Koala Beach.
I am a qualified accountant – not an ecologist. However, I am open to the views of ecologists on this issue and, with respect to the Kings Forest development, three respected koala experts have not called for a ban on dogs. I am not qualified to question their judgement in this matter. To suggest that I am uncaring of the plight of the Tweed Coast koala population is unfair and uninformed. I was one of the Councillors who, earlier this year, supported the reallocation of funds in the budget to complete a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management for the Shire and I have great confidence and respect for the experts that advise Council on matters of koala protection and I have consistently followed their advice on development matters that come before the Council.
Cr Barry Longland
Mayor of the Tweed
