LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

EDITOR, -

As Co-Chairmen of the Palmwoods Residents and Ratepayers group which organised the court case against the Orange County rezoning, we thought we should respond to the outcome of the case.

It is surprising to us that your newspaper has not sought to contact us for our opinion right from the start of the case in August last year. In this instance, it would have presented as balanced reporting if we were asked for a response to the decision.

Firstly, we as a group, are glad we took the action, even though the appeal was dismissed.

Although we feel that Palmwoods will now suffer as a result of the decision, we also know that there have already been some positive outcomes for Palmwoods as a result of our action.

In particular, the shire has targeted Palmwoods for special attention in local area plans for the "railway towns", and the community will now focus more closely on the local government planning process.

We have said right from the start that there is too much urban land allocated in the Strategic Plan, and we still hold to that view.

The Strategic Plan allows for about another 8000 people in Palmwoods and Woombye.

Proper sequencing and planning (including listening to and acting on community input) should now occur which will result in a plan to welcome the 8000 newcomers into the amenity we all enjoy.

We still say that it is very important that agricultural land is protected in the hinterland, even though some people say that some agricultural industries are in the doldrums.

There is a basic fault in logic here, just because one crop is not viable does not mean the land is useless. The face of agriculture is changing, and different crops and technologies are being pursued by farmers who have interests other than subdivision as their goal.

If Palmwoods grows faster than shire population projections, (surprisingly this is only 400 people in 10 years, even though the Strategic Plan allows for thousands) we can expect more crime, traffic and unemployment.

As well as this, tourists will be less likely to come here because the rural atmosphere will have been lost. The local businesses will benefit from tourist growth of our area, but will not benefit if new shops open within the Orange County subdivision.

Although the view expressed in your newspaper is that the local councillor Geoff Littler was vindicated in his support of the rezoning, clearly the voters were not so impressed. Although he has been in the job for 9 years, and should have been able to set up a strong support base, he was re-elected with a margin of only 159 votes (out of some 4000 voters).

If any readers are willing to help with ideas for the Local Area Plan process, please come to our meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at the Uniting Church Hall and tell us.

Your ideas will be welcomed and forwarded to the Maroochy Shire Council for consideration during the formation of your Local Area Plan.