A PUBLIC meeting to discuss the proposed Woolworths development in Bermagui was held at the Bermagui Community Hall on May 5.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
While the meeting was open to all community members, the majority of the estimated 85 people who attended were against the development, with no-one in support of it speaking up.
Ages of those at the meeting ranged from young to elderly.
“I’m very pleased with the way the meeting was run, and the genuine interest and support from the community,” focus group spokesperson Paul Payten said.
A motion was raised by Suzanne Foulkes and seconded by Nadine Hills and Mr Payten to invite all councillors to a community consultation meeting in Bermagui to discuss the development.
David Payne raised a motion to approach the Woolworths Limited CEO Grant O’Brien by sending a delegation or writing letters to tell him of the concerns many members of the community have with the new development, and of the affect that the supermarket could have on the town.
Mr Payten said he had made a submission to the NSW Ombudsman regarding “the fact the council hasn’t run due process”, and while he does not know what the outcome of that submission could be, he expected to hear back about it soon.
He said the focus group had also asked a councillor to put a rescission motion forward at the next Bega Valley Council meeting in order to halt the development.
Mr Payten said an idea raised was to create a garden sharing system, either by starting a community garden or creating an outlet for the distribution and sale of local produce, and 22 of those who attended put their names down to take part in this system.
Another idea was to send councillors copies of a recent ABC 7.30 Report segment that discussed the “whole business of how the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission are pressed to address the inequality of competition”, Mr Payten said.
The focus group will meet again on the weekend and discuss further steps.