Wednesday 10 September 2008

Cairns Airport will be exempt from planning laws

According to a statement issued this afternoon, proposed State legislation will allow any new owner of the Cairns Airport to be exempt from local planning laws.

The Airport Assets Restructuring and Disposal Bill cuts out Cairns Regional Council as the assessment authority. Good old Mother Hen, Anna Bligh steering her Good Ship will take control.

And our Deputy Mayor is somewhat complicit at having only a limited advisory capacity.

“There was an expectation that the land use manager would gain responsibility for the land use decision. The State will decide on development applications," Margaret Cochrane says.

“It can be likened to a tenant asking the landlord to change the use of the premises. Our main concern would be that the area could become retail. The freehold owner will want to return a profit. The traffic implications would be horrendous. A case in point is Brisbane."

Sediment King and Town Planner Peter Tabulo, says it fragments the planning legislation, making planning processes confusing and cumbersome.

“We are moving away from integrated planning legislation with the introduction of the Iconic Places Legislation, the Integrated Planning Act and now this, Tabulo said today. "Our role as land use managers, planning for the balance of the region is greatly compromised under this law,” he said.

And then dear ol Peter astounds us with his shutters when he says that the airport site would have no protection of any local heritage significance. Where was he when Harbour Lights, or Harbour Blights as everyone is calling it, was approved? Where is he on the whole Yacht Club saga? Looking after his "clients", that's where.

With the swing away from Labour in WA, NSW and the NT, Bligh seems like on a roller coaster of extinction, even before her first year is up as Premier.

On the Yacht Club and other areas where significant local infrastructure is concerned, her Government is blocking the local community from being involved.

As one CairnsBlog commenter said yesterday, spend $250 million doing up the airport, and flog it off for $400m. Where are these Labor folk coming from?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Airports like seaports have always been leased to a port authority, even if that 'authority' is a corporate arm of government. As the land tenure is Strategic Port Land, the port authority has always been the assessment menegaer or decision maker, never the local authority, this is nothing new.

Anonymous said...

Oh! the irony of it all. The Council is about to be done over by the Port Authority and the State Government the very entities it has been complicit with in actions to destroy a community’s valued cultural heritage resource in the name of a boardwalk, boutique hotel and other commercial and upmarket residential developments.

KitchenSlut said...

Interesting that a certain quick character is claiming that KB would have been onto this and killed it? Maybe someone out there in the informed blogland can fill us in on this but my understanding is that the 'Cityport' precinct that delivered us Harbour Blights and the destruction of the Yachtie is also an entirely separate zoning precinct negotiated under the auspices of KB?

However the absence of anonymous posts will necessarily restrict any lurking whistleblowers. Cairns is a small town .... anonymous motivations, from painful personal experience, may not be always what you think ....

Unknown said...

No K-Slutty ... all DQ said, was that KB would have said something about this pseudo control of Cairns by the Labour dogs in Brisbane.

Kev would have been saying something along the lines … that the locals in Cairns should have some say about who and what develops … and where.

Not be a capitulating Labour Party DOG like these local State Govt mongrels.

These local Labour dogs certainly don't represent Cairns or anyone that chooses to live here.

They don’t want to rock the Brisbane Ferry boat.
They are looking at their superannuation packages, oh yeah !

If O’Brien had any backbone, he would be still representing the good folks of Earlville.

Say no more … $$$

Quickie …

Unknown said...

Following ...
Kev would have been saying something along the lines of … "I think that the locals in Cairns should have some say about who and what develops … and where."

Because ... he was a local, I'm told.

As local as you can get, his Mum and Dad meeting for the first time ... at the now hysterical, sorry, historical Cairns Yacht Club.

Unknown said...

Preservation ! Preservation ! Preservation !
What do we want !!!
Preservation ! Preservation ! Preservation !
When do we want it !!!
Now !!!!!

Oh my god !!!

Anonymous said...

Am I completely befuddled? Or does now look like a good time for the citizens of Cairns to make a stand about government and development in our fair city.

The Yacht Club building is an icon, with a solid core of community support. I’ve been meeting with fifteen or so concerned citizens for about two months or so, and those citizens are prepared to carry out civil disobedience and inflict electoral sanctions against the desecrators - Anna Bligh, Desley Boyle, Steve Wettenhall, Jason O’Brien, and anyone else who’d like to stick their hand up.

The Cairns Port Authority is a remarkably stupid and inept instrument of public policy. The Board should be sacked and replaced with one that can solve problems instead of making them all the time. The Airport sale ought be put on hold.

What can we expect from Val Schier?

On Thursday the Cairns Regional Council voted to advocate for Cairns’ community, and to attempt to persuade the Bligh Bunch to preserve and adapt the building on site. What does that mean?

It ought mean that Mayor Val Schier and her office turn on a charm offensive with Premier Anna Bligh, bringing her to the table, and the public forum, in Cairns, to have an honest discussion about Cityport and the Yacht Club building.

PADYC can get 1,000 citizens in a hall to reason with Premier Bligh.

Can Mayor Schier do the Mayor’s job, and get Premier Bligh to that meeting?

Cheers
Bryan

Jason O'Brien said...

While it is good that people are passionate about this issue it might help if bloggers actually read the legislation.

For the first time the local Council will have a say on development applications on the airport site. This is a right they have not previously enjoyed.

Anonymous said...

Oh, little boy Jason O'Brien:

You love your little word games, don't cha?

Saying "Council will have a say on development applications" is complete and utter bullshit. Everyone has a say on these matters now, it's just that no one at the state level will listen to their constituents.

While the Port Authority has owned the airport, they've used their unilateral powers to plop giant billboards on the Cook Highway, which is required by state law to be billboard free. Except when it comes to the state itself, which exempts itself from these petty laws.

The fact is, we have NO representative government in Queensland. You're a party hack Jason, just like your cronies. You spout the party line and regurgitate the premier's pronouncements. Just like those who came before you. That other party hack Lesley Clark admitted to a neighbourhood group just after her retirement that the Cairns Base should have never been kept on the Esplanade ten years ago. I'm sure the considered opinion of all our pollies. However the Brisbane Labor machine has commanded otherwise, so check your brain at the door and get on your knees to the treasurer!

This isn't government, it's an insane asylum. Your feeble attempts to defend it just show the boob you really are, Mr. O'Brien. A spineless charlatan.