A photograph from the Golden Grove Piggerry near Young owned by Michael and Edwina Beveridge.
Saturday will mark 7 months since a development application was lodged for a piggery at Eulie Road in Harden. The application has been the centre of much debate in the community and on a regional level. There are several groups who have taken a position on the development proposal. The first are the applicants Michael and Edwina Beveridge, the second is The Cunningham Valley Action Group who are against the proposal. The third is the Say No To Blantyre Farms group, whose name speaks for itself. The fourth is A Say Yes To Blantyre farms group which sprung up quickly after the Say No group appeared. There are three other groups that need to be noted. Animal liberation supporters, the general community of Harden Shire and the new Hilltops Council.
The Beveridge family own two other piggeries in Young including Dead Horse Gully piggery and Golden Grove piggery. Both facilities can house approximately 25,000 pigs or 2200 sows at any time. The Beveridge family lodged the Blantyre farm proposal on their own land south of Harden with the proposal’s size similar to their other piggeries. The proposal is also to house a maximum of 25,000 pigs and 2200 sows. The former Young Shire Council approved both of the Beveridge’s piggeries and more recently a piggery at Koorowatha. Why then is the current regime unable to come to a decision either in favour or against the proposal especially when the application was lodged nearly 7 months ago? The Hilltops Administrator has now called for an Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel also know as an (IHAP). A Council can appoint an IHAP “To assess any aspect of a development application or planning matter referred to the panel by the Council” [section 23I(1) of the Act]. The panel doesn’t come cheap however, with up to 10 or 11 people allocated a position on the panel at a cost of $1,100 per day per panel member. That’s a possible outgoing cost of $12,100 per day for advice that the former Young Shire Council didn’t need in approving the last 3 piggeries in the area. But advice that the new Hilltops Council seemingly does.
The business paper states “The members of the IHAP will require reimbursement for their activities. There is no guidance offered by the regulations or Department of Planning as to how much panel members are to be paid and it is a matter for Council to consider. There are only a handful of Councils, based in Sydney, that have established such panels and they operate on a four yearly or annual term rather than for a single application. However; it is estimated that costs may be in the range of $1,000 to $1,500 per member per day. Advice received is that the panel members do get all the work necessary for multiple applications completed in a single day.” The IHAP must, in accordance with section 23I(2) of the Act, consist of “Persons having expertise in at least 1 of planning, architecture, heritage, the environment, urban design, land economics, traffic and transport, law, engineering, tourism or government and public administration.”
A Council that establishes an IHAP must provide facilities and staff to enable it to carry out its functions and panel members are entitled to be paid remuneration as determined by the Minister (or delegate) [sections 23I(6) and (7)]. An IHAP constituted under section 23I is not a deliberative body; it provides recommendations to the consent authority (ie Council) which it may use in its assessment and determination of a development application. If the panel members are able to complete multiple applications in a single day, Hilltops residents can expect that they would be able to complete the Blantyre application in a single day. However, how much time and care can be spent focussing on the issues if the panel is able to complete the applications in such a short time? What is the panel’s worth? Is Council better off relying on their own skill set?
Tuckerman told Fairfax media on May 16 that “The decision will be mine alone”. Regarding the piggery proposal. That still may be the case but not before 28 staff have been consulted and an undetermined number of expensive consultants have been allocated. Tuckerman has previously asked staff to prepare briefings, which would shape her decision on the Blantyre Farm piggery development application. However, the process has now taken a further step. The state government has spent approximately $150 million dollars over the last 12 months on consultants and still got the fit for the future merger process wrong. Tuckerman has nearly $1.5 million dollars worth of internal annual expertise currently at her disposal through the Hilltops staff. The Administrator is paid $180,000 per annum. There are 3 general Managers in the form of McMahon, Aber and Jordan whose combined salaries would be conservatively costed at $500,000. There are another six directors who on a conservative estimate would be paid a combined figure of approximately $660,000. Add the three advisory committees who each contain 6 representatives from Harden Young and Boorowa and who are mostly fomer Councillors and you have another $198,180. That means there are 28 people who are either directly involved in constructing reports, advising the Administrator or experts in the Local Government Act. $1.5 million dollars is a lot of money to pay staff who are either unable to make a decision or not allowed to make a decision.
As previously stated there is only one person with any decision making powers on the current Hilltops Council and that is the Administrator, Tuckerman. The staff already involved in the Hilltops Council are highly skilled operators, some of whom have been in local government for decades. Has the piggery been put in the too hard basket by the current regime? Will it be too damaging to the Administrator if she approves or denies consent to the project without the support of the new panel’s recommendation, which will be brought in at great expense to management and the ratepayer. This is the predicament the rate payers of the new Hilltops Shire have found themselves in. Does the everyday rate payer see value for money in paying a small fortune to an ‘expert’ panel when their rates are already going towards paying 28 people to do that job for them? Has it been passed to a separate governing body to distance the new Hilltops Council from what is the most contentious development application in recent memory? The proposal has already been on public exhibition twice and still no result for the applicant or those affected members of the community or the previously mentioned groups. Over 2540 submission were received regarding the proposal since December 16, 2015 to June 6 2016. More than the entire population of the township of Harden Murrumburrah. Although it is obvious many of the submissions received have been from people living outside the Shire area, there have also been many submissions from residents. The Beveridge family were contacted for comment and stated. “We are concerned about further delays, however, this process might also provide the application with more ticks and provide an even more robust case for the construction.” The feeling about the IHAP process is similar from the Say No To Blantyre Farms group but for different reasons. Group representative Lisa Ryan said “We welcome council’s decision to seek expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced professionals to act as an Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel. Because of the range of DA risks and impacts and the various complexities, we believe we are some months away from council staff being in a position where they can compile a council report with recommendations. We would not view council’s decision to look towards an IHAP as an indication of any council failure, rather council has acknowledged the significance and complexity of the risks and impacts, and the importance of a robust and transparent planning process. We believe the IHAP path is an appropriate and responsible path to venture down at this juncture.” The sooner the Blantyre farm is not built the happier the Say No To Blantyre farms will be. The name says it all. They are no doubt hoping that by having another look at the application something may be picked up which could stall the process longer or prevent construction.
The Say Yes to Blantyre Farms page sprung up in opposition to the Say No group and hasn’t posted on their Facebook page since May 18, they have 198 Facebook likes. The Say NO group is much more active with posts as recent as June 27 and a like count of 866. The Cunningham Valley Action Group contains a number of nearby farmers who oppose the proposal on a number of levels ranging from odour, soil type, topography and location to the township and major waterways. They also highlight the proximity of the piggery in relation to the township of Harden, stating 6.6 kilometres to the Harden Post Office and 5.5 kilometres to the first tee at the Harden Golf Club. Although not directly aligned with animal liberation or the Say No to Blantyre page they are a loud voice against the proposal being placed in the Cunningham Valley near their farms. For residents of Harden Shire the piggery may yet become part of the local folklore of lost opportunities including the abattoirs, the sausage factory and the Woolworths depot to name a few.
Members of the community range from wanting the piggery here and now to not wanting it to go ahead at all. The applicants state they are hoping to expand their business and fill a pork shortage in Australia. The Council which equates to the voting power of one person doesn’t want to get the decision wrong and alienate the residents of Harden. The Say No to Blantyre Farm doesn’t want the farm at all otherwise their page may have been called ‘Say Yes To Blantyre farms as long as all the boxes are ticked and everything is done right.’ The long term financial future of Harden is also at stake. Pepe’s Ducks has produced a handful of jobs and are yet to complete the other half of the 27 sheds their development consent allows. When they do, they have stated that they will provide a total of 20 jobs. The piggery promises 20 jobs also. This issue is far from over and will continue to feature in local and regional media until it is resolved one way or another. What the future holds for Harden is yet to be determined. When further consulation is held there is still one thing for sure. The decision lies in the hands of one person. Wendy Tuckerman.
