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Page 8 of 14 pages : significant questions (jump to page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14) :
Buckeridge threatens legal action over Cockburn port plan : “James Point consortium signed a contract with the previous Court (coalition) government to build a port and after seven years has received environmental approval for stage one, which would provide a facility to export live sheep and bulk goods. If the Government attempts to go ahead with option two (Fremantle Ports & WA DPI), then I have no doubt that James Point would simply get an injunction against any alternative development. Where do the government think we are? This is not Mother Russia. You can’t steal people’s property.” Len Buckeridge, James Point Pty Ltd Extract : West Australian (Page 1), 05 Jul 2007 Bastardry in MacTiernan’s port stratagem : “Mr Buckeridge’s consortium signed a contract with the previous coalition government and got environmental approval for stage one of its project after seven years. So that proposal is already afoot, but is apparently about to be directed into an ideological dead-end because the Government has its own plans, one of which, Mr Buckeridge says, would block access to his proposed port. He has good reason to be angry. It looks very much as if the Government is bent on using the authority entrusted to it by the people to ride over the top of a private developer – and one who has been widely regarded over the years as being an enemy of Labor at that.” “Ms MacTiernan is on record as saying a new container and cargo port is too important to the WA economy to be delivered to private control. The irony will not be lost on West Australians of that remark coming from a member of a government under constant siege for its inability to run just about anything effectively, from a crumbling public health system to schools that can’t even be staffed properly. Ms MacTiernan has put the integrity of WA’s planning procedures under question and is jeopardising the State’s reputation as a place in which to do business and invest. She should focus on her obligation to serve the public interest rather than on threadbare ideology and archaic ideas of class warfare.” Paul Armstrong, Editor, The West Australian Extract : West Australian (Page 16), 9 Jul 2007 “Mayor’s AEC site backflip – Albany Mayor Alison Goode wants the Albany Entertainment Centre to be removed from the Albany Waterfront development and located anywhere else in the city. She confirmed her change of mind on the AEC’s location after calling for a rethink on the decision at last week’s Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry ‘Meet the Mayor’ forum. She claimed Council was wrongly influenced into selecting the waterfront for the AEC. Her stance was a dramatic turnaround from December last year when she criticised the Weekender for reporting her comment at a special meeting that Council had been ‘coerced’. Mayor Goode said last week that Council was pressured by Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan and Albany MLA Peter Watson with an attractive land-swap deal. She said unimpeded freight access to the port remained a problem and the AEC would be in the wrong place.” |
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“The Mayor’s comments were rejected by Mr Watson. He said they were made at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons during an election campaign. I’m disappointed with the Mayor for coming out with this, he said. There was no pressure from the Government.” “The money for the York Street site was in the hands of the Great Southern Development Commission, ready for the AEC when there was a decision by Council to make a change. Mr Watson said there were negative issues in developing the former City administration site, including the location of an historic Aboriginal grave and removal of rocks. There were no strings attached. The idea came from myself and Alannah, he said. Council was briefed and voted on it. There was no pressure at all on Council. Mr Watson said questions about the future of 24-hour access to the Albany Port continued to be a furphy put forward by waterfront opponents. The Mayor was happy to stand beside Premier Alan Carpenter taking the accolades when he announced funding for the AEC, Mr Watson said. She has had three to four years to do this. It is disappointing the Mayor is doing this now.” “The port is such an important part of our town. Access is not a problem. That will never happen under this Government, or any other Government, I am sure. Mr Watson said there were no complaints from the Albany Port Authority or CBH which recently spent millions of dollars on new storage facilities. Mayor Goode ensured the AEC would become a strong issue in the race for Local Government elections on October 20. She is one of five mayoral candidates, and is hoping to return for a third term. All candidates were put on the spot at the ACCI forum over the waterfront issue. Mayor Goode said she believed the AEC would be in the wrong place if it was built at the Princess Royal Harbour foreshore.” “Fellow candidate Dot Price said she had never liked the waterfront site for the AEC, as she believed there would be a problem as the port grew. Cr Dennis Wellington said he thought the AEC as part of the waterfront would be fantastic for the city. He said it was a positive move after many years of indecision, and he looked forward to its development. It will be a great asset for Albany he said. Cr John Jamieson said the City originally looked at an ‘el cheapo’ design in the centre of the CBD. Now there was a lot of envy around Western Australia because Albany had secured the State Government funding. We have mumbled around for 25 years on this, he said. This is a far-sighted vision. It’s time to start getting real for Albany.” Alison Goode, Mayor & Candidate, City of Albany Extract : AGS Weekender (Page 1), 04 Oct 2007 Thanks for the great send-off : “My husband Colin and I called into your office this morning to ask for a copy of your newspaper’s coverage of the QE2 visit to be sent to our home address. We also praised the welcome given to our arrival by the people of Albany. What we didn’t realise was that although there is a secure area around the wharf limiting vantage points for people seeing the QE2 out of the port of Albany, there was an incredible surprise in store! The roads and hillsides sparkled as the sun’s rays caught vehicle windscreens. There were cars bumper to bumper along the roads and people waving from any available vantage point. The other passengers around us were equally amazed for a small city to give such a stunning farewell. It appeared as though all the residents of Albany and surrounding area had come to farewell the QE2. Such a magnificent send off for the end of an era for a grand ocean liner. A big thank you to all those people who saw us off, it was a sight that will be remembered by many for years to come. Regards to the people of Albany.” Patricia & Colin Stone, Lakes Entrance, Victoria Article : Albany Advertiser (Page 8), 13 Mar 2008 Following up – Calling all Australians & Kia Ora Te Papa Aotearoa New Zealand for Albany Anzac 2014-18 : Lest we forget. Next page or Download a print version of ALL the statements? |
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Rainbow 2000 © — a Regional Planning Strategy for Albany & the Great Southern, Western Australia |
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Albany, Western Australia
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