The owners of 136 semi-permanent holiday caravans in 4 Council managed caravan parks have won a reprieve from eviction on June 30, after Clarence Valley Councillors passed a rescission motion to halt the process 5 votes to 3.

Due to a rescission motion signed by Cr’s Lynne Cairns, Greg Clancy and Cristie Yager being lodged with Mayor Ray Smith, an extraordinary Council meeting was required to be held concerning a motion carried at the March 20 ordinary Council meeting.

At the March 20 ordinary Council meeting, a foreshad-owed motion put forward by Cr Peter Johnstone was carried 6 votes to 2, with Cr’s Lynne Cairns, and Greg Clancy voting against.

The rescission motion submitted to Mayor Ray Smith that Council:

1. Note that council staff in their role as Crown Land Managers wish to follow what is considered industry best practice to phase out holiday vans.

2. Consider any requests to extend lease agreements for a further year on a case-by-case basis.

And replace it with: That Council:

1. Directs the General Manager to have all of the occupants who have long-term (casual occupation) agreements relating to the right to occupy moveable dwelling sites in Brooms Head, Iluka, Minnie Water and Wooli Holiday Parks and who have received notice advising them of the termination of their long term (casual occupation) agreements, written to informing them of the following:

a) Council withdraws the current proposed termination notices of the long term (casual occupation) agreements for the moveable dwelling sites used by the long-term casual occupants in Brooms Head, Iluka, Minnie Water and Wooli Holiday Parks.

b) Council provides delegation to the General Manager to retain the existing Long Term (Casual Occupation) occupants, and that Council will enter into new Long Term (Casual Occupation) Agreements, utilising the Occupation Agreement template, and this is to be carried out immediately.

c) Council will only consider any changes to the current site uses of the Brooms Head, Iluka, Minnie Water and Wooli Holiday Parks during the formulation of the Plans of Management, and with full involvement of the Traditional Owners in accordance with the Native Title Act 1993.

As Cr Karen Toms and her husband are managers of the Iluka Riverside Holiday Park, she applied to not attend the meeting, which was carried unanimously.

Cr Cairns moved the motion which was seconded by Cr Clancy.

“I know Cr Johnstone that you were trying to give consideration by extending lease agreements for a further year, on a case-by-case basis, and by considering best practice, but I’m afraid it has not been in best practice,” Cr Cairns said.

“Unfortunately, how it is being carried out, and I must apologise to all the people here in the gallery and all of those 136 people in those sites.

“Three days’ notice from a review, to not sell and to terminate, was not appropriate.

“It was done with haste, with rush, there’s no consultation.

“People have been living in the parks for years, whether they were complying or not, that’s not it, they were allowed to do this.

“They’ve been poorly treated, it’s an insult, it’s almost intimidation.

“And it’s had an horrendous impact, as we all know, because of all of you who have come forward and told us so.”

Cr Cairns said the stress and anguish endured by the 136 van owners was detrimentally affecting their lives and livelihoods.

“Also there has been no delegation for the General Manager to carry this out, even though it’s implied, I’ve seen a lot of things on Facebook where it says Councillors attended a workshop presentation regarding this decision on the 18th of February 2025, this decision was made under the delegation of Council to the General Manager,” she said.

“Councillors did not give delegation to the General Manager to undertake this decision.”

Cr Cairns said the second point in Cr Johnstone’s motion didn’t halt the eviction process for the caravan owners.

Under their long term (casual occupation) agreement, Holiday Caravan owners are only permitted to use the site for up to 180 days per year, and they can’t rent out their van for the rest of the year to another occupant, despite paying site fees for the entire year.

The caravan owners should have an alternative primary place of residence under the agreement, but Cr Cairns said many don’t.

As part of the preparation of the draft Plans of Management (PoM) for the holiday parks, Council’s consultants held drop-in sessions at each of the parks in August 2024.

“The draft Plans of Management will be reported to Council in early to mid-2025 for approval, to refer the draft Plan of Management to the Minister for Lands and Property…for approval to place the draft PoM on public exhibition,” she said.

“That process is now being bypassed, we’ve got the cart before the horse, I’m afraid.

“We should be looking at coming from the top down, and that is following the Native Title Act, the Crown Lands Management Act, the Local Government Act, which stipulates that there has to be, must be, a Plan of Management in place.”

Cr Johnstone then asked General Manager Laura Black if Council has received any applications from caravan owners for an extension of up to a year.

Ms Black said there had been 2 applications for an extension and one notification that may possibly be lodged by May 30.

When Cr Johnstone then asked about the criteria for assessing applications for an extension, Ms Black said “I don’t see any reason to knock any back.”

After he heard Ms Blacks responses to his questions, Cr Johnstone spoke against the rescission motion saying he was heartened that every application by a caravan owner for an extension of time would lead to a new 12-month agreement being signed.

Cr Johnstone said this was a NSW law that the caravan owners could only occupy their vans for up to 180 days a year, and he asked what would happen if Council didn’t follow the law.

“Whilst we are compassionate to the plight of those with nowhere to go, we also need to obey the law,” he said.

“Despite what I’ve heard I believe the original motion remains the best way forward.”

Cr Clancy spoke for the rescission motion, agreeing with Cr Johnstone that Council must obey the law.

“We have not obeyed the law in this action,” he said.

“We do not have a Plan of Management for Minnie Water, Wooli, Iluka.

“We can’t legally take this action, making a major change, when we haven’t followed the procedures.

“We have to follow the procedures of the Crown Land Act, we have to follow the procedures of the Native Title Act, we have to wait for a Plan of Management, we have to wait for maps which indicate the usage on each site.”

Cr Clancy said Cr Johnstone’s motion supported an action that was not lawful under the Crown Lands Act, or the Native Title Act.

“Let’s be compassionate and let’s work with the community on this,” he said.

Cr Debrah Novak then moved that the rescission motion be put to a vote which was carried 5 votes to 3, with Cr’s Shane Causley, Lynne Cairns, Greg Clancy, Cristie Yager, and Mayor Ray Smith voting in support.

Cr Cairns then moved her new motion, which was seconded by Cr Clancy.

General Manager Laura Black then asked Mayor Smith to adjourn the meeting so she could seek advice about the Code of Meeting Practice and whether the proposed new motion was lawful.

“You’ve already voted against something happening and now you’re trying to vote for the same thing happening, and I just need to check the Code of Meeting Practice please, because I’m not sure that you can do that,” she said.

Cr Novak then asked to if it could be checked whether Cr Cairns’ motion was lawful.

When the meeting resumed after the adjournment, Cr Allison Whaites asked the General Manager whether Cr Cairns motion was lawful.

“I think the fact that it is trying to reinstate an intent that was just lost means that it is not lawful, however I would need to get some confirmation on that,” Ms Black said.

Cr Cairns then asked Ms Black which section of the motion was unlawful.

“As I mentioned earlier…you voted against offering 12 months and this reads to me like you would like to reinstate that, that’s a direct opposite,” Ms Black said.

“You are also directing me to retain the existing long term occupation agreements, where some of those would be unlawful and you can’t direct me to do something that’s unlawful.”

Cr Cairns said the legal letter she provided to everybody before the meeting said that her motion was lawful.

“Where is the direction from Crown Lands to prohibit a person from residing or erecting a structure on Crown Land, when they were authorised by Clarence Valley Council as the Crown Land manager to do so,” Cr Cairns asked Ms Black.

Mayor Smith responded saying the General Manager had done her best to answer questions at the meeting.

“I’m getting the impression we are starting to badger the General Manager, and I’m not going to support that thank you,” he said.

“If this motion is carried, I will be relying on the General Manager to advise if its unlawful.

“If it is unlawful we’re back to square one, as the General Manager explained, as the 30 days for the van owners to take legal action would have expired.”

Cr Novak then addressed the Native Title situation surrounding the Brooms Head, Iluka, Minnie Water and Wooli holiday parks, which the Yaegl people hold Native Title over.

“Native Title holders, ahh owners, aren’t needed to rec…umm…umm…are not umm, let me just get this right,” she said.

“If there was a problem with what was going on, I can guarantee you
we would have every boomerang and every flame thrower in the Clarence Valley, going to NCAT (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal), sorry through NTS Court. They are the legal team that represents Native Title, they are the full-on legal team which represents Native Title and if there was a problem with what we are doing we would have heard from them by now.”

Cr Cairns responded to Cr Novak, reading a letter from Billy Walker, the current CEO of the Yaegl traditional owners of the Aboriginal Corporation.

“I wish to advise you about not being notified or consulted by Clarence Valley Council regarding the changing of semi-permanent camping sites in all caravan parks on the Crown Land Reserves and where Native Title currently exists, as well as other matters.”

Cr Cairns said that is what had come to her “and we also got a letter as well, as you know.”

When Cr Cairns’ motion was put to a vote, it was carried 5 votes to 3, with Cr’s Causley, Clancy, Yager, and Smith voting in support.

General Manager Laura Black is seeking legal advice on this Council resolution.

This article appeared in Clarence Valley Independent, 16 April 2025.
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