Australian Rural & Regional News asked some further questions of Lisa Bellamy and the Save Kariong Sacred Lands group, answered below, and sought a response from the Darkingjung Local Aboriginal Land Council and also the NSW Department of Planning. The Department’s response is below. Any response from Darkinjung LALC will be included below also.

Save Kariong Sacred Lands, Media Release, 5 February 2024

Supporters advocating for the protection of Lots 512 and 513, DP727686, identified as part of Kariong Sacred Lands along Woy Woy Road, express shock and dismay over the lack of transparency and fairness during the Community Consultation Phase for the contentious rezoning proposal.

The Rezoning Proposal, spearheaded by private owners and developers, Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (DLALC), aims to convert environmentally protected land (C2) to R2, facilitating a planned housing development. Despite being approved at the Gateway Stage, concerns have arisen regarding the subsequent community input stage.

During the critical public consultation period, spanning 42 days over the Christmas holiday break and closing on January 29 2024, supporters noted the challenges faced by community members attempting to engage with the process. Lisa Bellamy from the Save Kariong Sacred Lands group emphasized the incongruity of scheduling such a crucial phase during a time when community engagement is typically low, and local MP offices are closed.

Bellamy expressed concerns about the timing and accessibility, stating, “If true community consultation was encouraged during this public exhibition stage, it should be properly publicly advertised and set over a time when relevant authorities are available. The current situation raises questions about the efficiency of IT systems and staffing or potentially indicates more sinister motives.”

Despite years of campaigning by groups like Coast Environmental Alliance (CEA) and Save Kariong Sacred Lands to protect the environmentally and culturally significant land, issues with the submission process have further escalated the situation.

As the January 29 deadline approached, it became evident that numerous individuals who submitted via the NSW Department of Planning Portal did not receive confirmation emails. Attempts to address this with the Department of Planning were met with challenges, with the designated contact, Dr. Nicole McNamara, being on secondment and the system directing concerns to an overwhelmed customer service.

Steven Strong, a concerned community member, raised alarm bells, stating, “Most of the over 3,000 submissions, predominantly against this proposal, have been lost in the system, and the lack of a recovery mechanism is alarming.” Strong added that the customer service representative acknowledged the technical capacity to retrieve lost submissions but expressed suspicion about the circumstances surrounding the loss.

Environmentalists and community advocates are vehemently opposing the project, highlighting the irreversible loss of biodiversity and endangerment of species, including the eastern pygmy possum, large-eared pied bat, swift parrot, and rare plant species. The development’s impact extends to the removal of threatened wetlands, an Area of Regional Koala Significance, and the potential degradation of the Brisbane Water Catchment.

Critics argue that the project disregards the ecological, cultural, and heritage significance of the land, emphasizing the lack of proper evaluation of Aboriginal heritage sites and the disapproval from local Traditional Custodians. The proposed rezoning also raises concerns about the strain on local infrastructure, lack of housing diversity, and potential risks associated with urban sprawl.

Due to the failure of the public consultation process, a new submission period until February 9, 2024, has been allowed via email to Central Coast’s office of Department of Planning (centralcoast@planning.nsw.gov.au). [Ed: extended to 12 February by the department, see below]

Lisa Bellamy stressed, “This is not good enough. We estimate over 3,000 public submissions opposing this unpopular planning proposal. It is impossible to contact every person to resubmit their views. It appears to be a huge waste of time and raises serious concerns about the authenticity of the ‘tick box’ community consultation.”

In response to the setback, the public is encouraged to resubmit their views via email by the specified deadline. Those not wishing their submissions to be made publicly available on the NSW Planning Portal can opt out by sending an email with “OPT OUT” in the subject line. This incident marks a critical failure in the community consultation process, depriving the public of their voice in a decision of significant consequence.

Australian Rural & Regional News asked some further questions of Lisa Bellamy and the Save Kariong Sacred Lands group

ARR.News: Can you give more information about who and how many people are part of the Save Kariong Sacred Lands group and the nature of the group?

Save Kariong Sacred Lands: We are a local group of concerned locals, including local bloodline Traditional Custodians who have formed a group specifically to raise issues surrounding the planned rezoning of the land known as Kariong Sacred Lands, and to protect this land. We have over 600 members.

ARR.News: What evidence do you have that “over 3,000 submissions, predominantly against this proposal, have been lost in the system”?

Save Kariong Sacred Lands: Our campaign has been running for almost 4 years with the sole purpose of asking people to put in a submission when the time came. This is a conservative estimate based on:

• the amount of submissions raised by Save Northern Beaches campaign (3700) of a similar nature. 
• We work closely associated with Coast Environmental Alliance (CEA) who have 7.6k members. If only half of CEA members put in a submission that would bring us close to that number. 
• We also have hundreds of people advising us that they have put in a submission.

A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure provided the following response to Australian Rural & Regional News:

The Department is conscious of the strong level of community interest in the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council’s (LALC) proposal at Kariong on the Central Coast.

The Department has received feedback that some people may have experienced communication issues while making submissions on the Planning Portal.

As a result, the deadline for submissions via centralcoast@planning.nsw.gov.au has been extended until Monday 12 February at 5PM.

The Department will ensure any submissions made by email which were unable to be lodged on the Planning Portal will be included as part of the normal process.

The Independent Regional Planning Panel will then consider the proposal, including all submissions received during the initial public exhibition period and emails received up until Monday 12 February.

A response to submissions is expected to be finalised by mid-2024.

The Darkinjung LALC will still need to formally submit any potential development applications through Central Coast Council should the land be rezoned.

This will be subject to a separate public exhibition process.

Background as provided by the Department:

There is a high level of community interest in the planning proposal which is evident from the submissions which were lodged through the Planning Portal prior to the initial Monday 29 January deadline.

The Department understands the community wishes to ensure their feedback and comments are appropriately considered.

There were issues preventing some people from lodging their submissions through the Planning Portal which are now being investigated by the Planning Portal team.

Submissions are also currently being accepted via the Central Coast Mailbox (centralcoast@planning.nsw.gov.au) until Monday 12 February.

The Department’s website and Planning Portal page (https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/ppr/post-exhibition/darkinjung-lalc-kariong-woy-woy-road) have been updated to reflect this change.

The Department exhibited the planning proposal for an extended period of eight weeks from Friday 1 December 2023 to Monday 29 January 2024 to account for the summer holiday period.

The planning proposal includes a draft Development Control Plan to ensure development outcomes are sensitive to the constraints of the site, including the topography, vegetation, and Aboriginal cultural heritage.