Mayor tells trust: drop the attitude
By SARAH ALLELY
SHELLHARBOUR Mayor David Hamilton has accused the Killalea State Park Trust of thumbing its nose at the council over development plans for the park.
The mayor, backed by his councillors, has demanded more information from the trust after it provided council with only brief reports of its June and July meetings.
Councillor Hamilton will now ask for the trust's audit reports, and has encouraged other councillors to ask questions.
He said because the trust stated it needed to lease Killalea land to a private company to raise funds to maintain the park, it was important for its financial situation to be transparent.
On April 30, NSW Lands Minister Tony Kelly signed an agreement to lease three parcels of park land for 52 years to Killalea Coastal Investments, a joint venture between Mariner Financial and Babcock & Brown.
It allows 202 residential lodges, swimming pools, tennis courts, restaurants and a conference centre.
Shellharbour councillors criticised as inadequate the two one-page reports from the trust's June and July meetings which went to the council on Tuesday night, and voted unanimously to ask for more information.
"I actually believe the Killalea State Park Trust has thumbed its nose at Shellharbour City Council," Cr Hamilton told the council.
He said the trust should be trying to build a relationship with the council, "but this attitude is not going to get them anywhere".
Trust chair Ed Gilmore said it was answerable to the Department of Lands and the minister, not the council, and councillors should approach the Government for more information.
"They asked for a précis of our meetings so we gave it to them," Mr Gilmore said.
"I suppose the alternative is we stop giving them a copy."
Cr Hamilton said the trust's imminent plans to build amenities blocks and a car park at The Farm beach should have been outlined in detail, but instead there was one brief sentence.
"I think because we had the audacity to say we wanted more information, they have come out and given us this," he said.
Cr Jeff Bailey said the brevity of the report was "ridiculous".
EDITORIAL: A matter of trust: p23
Illawarra Mercury - 26 July 2007
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