At today’s Planning Meeting of Council my Notice of Motion regarding the application for recreational helicopter operations from a Woongarra Scenic Drive residential allotment, was again trumped when the Chairman called for a motion to defer it prior to it being opened for debate.
The Notice of Motion which was lodged on 21st June sought a refusal of the application and included the endorsement of Council’s planning staff in seeking CASA’s advice on matters related to the safe operation of aircraft.
Prior to this morning’s meeting, Councillors received an email from the applicant’s consultants advising that yesterday they had tried to contact CASA, the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Development and the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government & Planning but were unable to obtain the advice that they sought within the available timeframe (ie, before this morning’s meeting) and therefore required a further deferral. Why this information wasn’t sought six weeks ago when the matter was first presented to Council on 19th May is something that I can’t answer.
Despite my Notice of Motion being the first item of business on the agenda Cr. Sommerfeld opened the meeting by outlining the applicant’s request for another deferral and asked if a motion to that effect was forthcoming. It was moved by Cr. Batt, seconded by Cr Peters & carried with the additional support of Crs Bush, Forgan, Forman, Habermann & Ricciardi. It was opposed by myself, Cr. Honor, Cr Rowleson & Cr Sommerfeld.
A member of the public gallery exploded when the motion was carried and continued yelling abuse for several minutes before Cr Sommerfeld was forced to close the meeting and have him removed from the Chambers.
As a result of the decision, the officer’s separate report and recommendation for a refusal was also withdrawn from the agenda without debate and the controversial application remains unresolved requiring it to be referred back again to another future meeting of Council. I suspect that it may also be the subject of further discussions behind closed doors and possibly even more reports from the planning officers.
Today’s deferral follows the previous one that resulted when the Mayor rearranged the order of business at the Ordinary Meeting held on 19th June to have his motion determined before mine which had been listed as the first item for discussion.
Previous Related Posts
26/06/15 – Two Motions Recommend Refusal of Helicopter Application
09/06/15 – Mayor Re-Arranges Meeting Agenda To Trump Helicopter Motion
05/06/15 – Helicopter Application Assessment & Notice Of Motion
02/06/15 – Amended Notice Of Motion Re Helicopter Application
30/05/15 – Mayor Lodges Notice Of Motion To Defer Helicopter Application
29/05/15 – Rescind Motion Lodged Re Helicopter Application
19/05/15 – Councillors Fail To Support Recommended Refusal For Helicopter Operation In Bargara Residential Area