LETTER: Public deserves transparency on Ferry Street decision

DEAR News Of The Area,

LAST week, Bellingen Shire Council voted to dispose of Lot 1 Ferry Street for $1.

I want to be clear: this letter is not about supporting or opposing the project. It is about the integrity of the decision-making process.

During the meeting, Councillor questions – together with the information provided in the council report and public exhibition documents – made it clear that Councillors had not been given key information, including:

* the road-reserve encroachment shown in the proponent’s own drawings

* valuation discrepancies with the adjacent Kalang River Motel road

reserve disposal

* the General Manager’s involvement with the proponent’s advisory group

* related-party land interests

* feasibility constraints

* and my own public submission, which was not provided to Councillors

despite being formally lodged (with receipt).

These omissions materially affected Councillors’ ability to make an informed decision.

Council’s report stated that all submissions were reproduced “verbatim”. This was not correct. My submission – which raised probity, governance and process-integrity concerns – was withheld from both the public /and/ decision-makers.

Council also relied on a “transaction-specific” probity plan, which applies only to the contract stage. This meant that broader process-integrity issues raised in submissions – such as site selection, conflicts of interest, and governance arrangements – were not formally addressed.

The official meeting video appears to contain a jump cut at the exact moment the Mayor was addressing governance and probity concerns raised in submissions (at roughly 2:03:45). The recording resumes on a different topic. This raises legitimate questions about the completeness of the public record.

These issues do not relate to whether the housing project is good or bad. They relate to whether Councillors were given the information they needed to make an informed decision, and whether the public can have confidence in the process.

After raising these and other concerns directly with the General Manager, I was advised that I could refer the matter to the Office of Local Government and the ICAC for assessment, which I have now done.

The community deserves transparency, regardless of the outcome.

Regards,

Arne Hansen,

Bellingen.