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Transcript

Katie spoke with Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis who gave an update on the Lee Point development · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know that there has been I guess you'd
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: say a bit of discussion about the development at Lee Point,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: and we know that quite a few people turned up
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: apparently to councils meeting overnight to watch Darwin Council pass
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: emotion urging the Northern Territory government to freeze the development
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: at Lee Point. Now joining me in the studio right
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: now is the one person who actually does want to
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: see this development still continue ahead, and that is the
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Lord Mayor of Darwin convat Scarlets.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Good morning to Yukon.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie. The issue is not about me want
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: to see the development going ahead. The issue is that
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: the development is going ahead because it's been done by
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: the DHA, has been assessed by the Federal Environmental Protection Authority,
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: has been assessed by the Anti Development Consent Authority, and
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: just last week the Chief Minister said is going to
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: go ahead and the minis they're responsible for that process
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: is going.
• 0:55
  Speaker 4: To go ahead.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Well, on that note, let's take a listen to what
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Eva Laula told us on the show last week in
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: relation to Lee Point being a done deal.
• 1:04
  Speaker 5: Yeah, it is actually too far gone. First of all,
• 1:07
  Speaker 5: this development has followed all the right processes through the
• 1:10
  Speaker 5: planning decisions were made many years ago in the DCA
• 1:15
  Speaker 5: was involved. It has been through the independent EPA and
• 1:18
  Speaker 5: it has also been through the Federal EPBC, so it
• 1:22
  Speaker 5: has gone through all of those processes. As a minister,
• 1:25
  Speaker 5: I am not going to start overturning decisions that are
• 1:28
  Speaker 5: being made by independent statute boards. Otherwise we will have
• 1:32
  Speaker 5: chaos in the Northern territory.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: Con does that? Is that good enough? Do you think?
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: And or do we need to actually take another look
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: at this development.
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: The ministers have made it clear it's been assessed by
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: independent statue authorities. Now can you imagine if every minister
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: overturns every decision made by dependent statuy authority?
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: What will happen?
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: The same people complain about the point today, we'll complain
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: for everything else. Now let's go back to the history
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: that first came to Dow on twenty four the proponent
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: Rebecca de Rowe, It was the seconder in the motion
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: to accept it. It was accepted. It came back in
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: twenty fifteen, it was accepted. It came back in twenty
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: eighteen for a change of the plan. It was accepted
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: by council and just as late as July, we were
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: actually discussing the name of the parks on the streets.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: Nobody raised an issue. Then about the point, all of
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: a sudden become an issue, asking now to stop the
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: development and create a master plan.
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: Let me give you a heart. What are you sign?
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Do you think that the other alderman hadn't read those papers?
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Do you think that they didn't understand or do you
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: think that I've listened to the community.
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: Now well about the papers?
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: You might have to ask them because we've got a
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: situations where all the might come in make decisions and
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: then oh I didn't know what I was voting for,
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: which is really bad. Now listen to the community. Which
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: community listen? You can choose to listen parts of the
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: community or the community.
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: Now.
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: My point, sorry, my opponent opposition to the point is
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: the density of the developed the small blocks.
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: And I've said made clear time after time.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: But yesterday I sat there and watch all my fellow
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: oldermen coming out and giving reason why they've voted for it,
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: and I thought, doesn't anybody has a spine stand up
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: and says, guys, we discussed that one for seven years.
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: We accept it all along, all of a sudden now
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: we are opposing it, and on what grounds? Because you
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: change your mind, that's not a valid ground. I would
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: have an issue if EPA came express concerns, then I'll
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: be behind it that says, yes, we have to go back,
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: but there isn't any issues.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Well, I would assume that you know the reasons that
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: the old women have said. And I know I've spoken
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: to Justin and Glover on the show a little while
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: back and she had said that obviously it's the environment
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: that there is also concern from a lot of the
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: residents that.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: Live in that area.
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  Speaker 1: What would you say to those people that are worried
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: that live in that area and they are worried about
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  Speaker 1: the impact that this is going to have.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: Well, there's a letter of the newspaper today that's very
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: clearly outlined some of the issues about the residents living
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: in the area, raigeteries, living in lions and near here.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: That was defense Housing Authority cleared up from not neat
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: vegetation to heather houses.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: That happened everywhere in Darwin.
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  Speaker 3: But again, I'm not the one who says, yes, I'm
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: supporting the development. What I'm saying is it's the wrong
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: time it. We should have done that one if we
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: had to do it in twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen before
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: and during the assessment process by EPA and DCA. When
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: you develop in the territory, you have to put the
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: pink signs out there so everybody knows going to be development.
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: Where were all these people that came yesterday, one hundred
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: and ten of them? Where the one hundred and ten
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: submissions against LEEPOINT There was seventeen submissions against it, or
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: not all of them against, there were seventeen submissions. And
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: that's what I'm saying is do we really want to
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: fight the fight we already know it's lost and present
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: ourselves as antidevelopment an orderback. I went to great lengths
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: to say it's not under development, but trying to stop
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: a development now, that's what it is.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: It's aunted development. It doesn't matter how many excuses you make.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: What is going to happen now?
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Because it seems as though, based on what the Minister
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Evil Lawler had said to us on the show last week,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: it's a done deal. It's going a hit. So what's
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: going to happen now? What does this vote last night
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: by council actually.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: Mean to put it bluntly, people voted for Rebecca's motion
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: because they knew very well nothing's going to change.
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: So it's very easy to be brave when you know
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: something is going to change. All right.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: The reality is it doesn't matter what Rebecca said or
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: just think Glover or to all the other eleven councilors,
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: because Mick Palmer was not there, it was away. Nothing
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: is going to change. And that's why I vote against it,
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: because nothing is going to change. And let me make
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: it clear, this is my personal opinion. I haven't received
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: any pressure from Ivalola or my gun for the same reason.
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: We're too small to oppose this development because already been approved,
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: been assessed, is been ticked by statute authorities. Council has
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: only an opinion on that process, not the final award
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: that developed men unfortunately has been approved.
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: Council missed the boat. All these bavigous they.
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: Were demonstrating that should he have act in twenty fourteen,
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: twenty fifteen or twenty sixteen, they didn't.
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: It's a lesson we have to learn be early.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: Put your proposals or position or submissions early when things
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: about to happen, not at the end of the process.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: You're early in the process. Now would you still go
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: down this pathcorn I will actually.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: Ask for the development to be relooked, not to be
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: so dense, and the blocks of land not to be
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: so small and more green space.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: Now it's already decided.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: But I mean, really do we need to actually like
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: the reality of this is there isn't huge parcels of
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: land around Darwin right now that can be developed that
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: people can actually you know, for young people wanting to
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: buy a block of land.
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: Another a lot of young people listening to you today
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: if they want to buy a block of land. Guys,
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: you got buck list. The next releass you Collie will
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: be in twenty twenty two Christmas. That what I hear
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: from the industry. All the blocks in you are here
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: now have been sold. A one hundred blocks were put
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: out for the new development North New York Head recently
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: were snapped in a matter of hours.
• 7:07
  Speaker 4: So there is demand for land.
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: And again I guess that we heard stories like if
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: we do Lipoint would be urban sprawl. What do you
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: think is Rucoli We had yesterday that if we developed,
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: if the ear lip Point is developed, they turtle not
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: lay eggs. The development is two kilometers from the coastline
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: house that's going to be affected. Were also heard by
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: some people that that told us that President Akia people. However,
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: today the Latakia nation tell me that they are speaking
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: for themselves, not Akia nation that told us that's going
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: to affect Old Man Rock.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: Well, I've been down with thirty years.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: I always knew Old Monrock was actually off the Casarina coastline,
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  Speaker 3: not a lip point.
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  Speaker 4: You know. If you want to make a case, you
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: put all the stories here.
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  Speaker 1: Presumably though this has all gone through like I would
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: have thought, there's this all had to go through. I
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: can't think of what the actual authority is called, but
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: the aboriginal you know, a sacred size authority in that
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: kind of thing already.
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: That's what said. It's been through all the processes you
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: know in past.
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  Speaker 3: Now we want actually to go back and undo it,
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: which is it creates a situation where nobody is going
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: to actually do anything in the territory because there's no certainly.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: But again I said, I voted against it because I
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: know it's not going to change. It doesn't matter what
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: I want, what you want, what Rebecca wants. This is
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: going to go ahead because it's been already done.
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: Not a done deal. It's not a deal.
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  Speaker 3: It followed a certain process and jumped all the hurdles.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you what it is. Something there. I
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: know some people are quite concerned about. Others, though, are
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: worried about plenty of other things. I've got a couple
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: of messages over the course of the weekend corn people
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: worried and quite frankly annoyed that the council rangers were
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: booking people at the pro markets on Saturday. Should we
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: be doing this or should we just be letting people
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: enjoy their time at the markets?
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: Well, we should let people enjoy the time at the market.
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: But the people actually do something wrong there should know
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: that other people they want to park where they parked.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: If the parking indicator says park for fifteen minutes or
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: two hours, that's the time limit. Because we decided you
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: want to stay for four hours, somebody else is going
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: to miss out the arranges. Do not do anything else
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: but applying to the legislation as it stands, you can
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: park in a disabled parking spot. I don't care if
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: you want to enjoy the markets or not. This is
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: a no no. If it says fifteen minutes, stay fifteen minutes.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: If you say to ours, stay two hours. If you
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: double park, you're going to be booked. Just follow the rules.
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: I mean, it's not rules for one person and nothing
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: for the other. If you want to enjoy the markets,
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: by all means, enjoy the markets, but let other people
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: enjoy the market store.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: I know there's plenty on the gender at the moment,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: and over the course of the weekend.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: I think you had your plan give a way. How
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: did this one guy?
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: Well, two days we gave seventeen hundred plans to three
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: hundred and fifty people.
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: It's mayhem.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: We had people queueing in the sun to get some plans.
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: There is demand of the plants, and of course you
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: have to remember giving out four thousand lands, it puts
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: four thousand plus the ground and people would plant them
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: and look after them. So that adds to the fifteen
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: thousand plants were already planted and more than more coming.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: We've got another six times to give out plans. Find
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: out from the council website where the time is, where
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: the location is, and come early.
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: I heard that there were people queuing from seven o'clock.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I get in there early. Can anything else on
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: your agenda that we should be aware of. Briefly, well,
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: let me tell you.
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Apart from the plants, we had a number of walkways closures.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: Now there are some issues with walkwayte especially in we
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: close one in Karama, one in Coconut Grove. They become
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: high of anti social activity late at night. We close
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: the more trial based. It did seem to work because
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: people seem to break logs jam defense. So now close
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: it and probably which we'll offer them. One who was
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: in Craig Street in a Coconut grove and the other
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: was in Karama.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: Heem got in front of me the Carrol Crest and
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: Newly Road in Malach.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: Sorry, and so they're now closing permanent, but we probably.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: Offer them to the neighbors if they want to buy
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: it to incorporate to their land.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: Right, So closing permanently, and that is because of the
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: anti social behavior in those areas.
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: It's incredible.
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: I remember when I was in Caserina, I had to
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: close walkways either partially or completely because kids know anyway
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: to escape, and of course the walkways are so narrow
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: you can't put a car if you chased. So they
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: found them at escape roots so by close them completely
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: and given to the neighbors. Then create a new situation
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: because don't forget people might have dogs in their backyards.
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: Yah, and kids will not jump in the backyard.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: What kind of things were you saying in those walkwise.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Well, smashing the house and then run away shop lifting
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: and then run away getting running from one area to another,
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: and of course they know every single walkway in their
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: neighborhood and the police by the time they go around
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: to the other exit point of the walkway, the kids
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: have disappeared.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: Well, Convat Scarlas it sounds like a move that hopefully
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: those residents who live nearby are happy with as well.
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: We always make sure that we ask the neighbors if
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: they're happy with it, and you'd be surprised the response
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: we get.
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: Most people says yes, please not soon enough.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there you go.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: Oh well, Convat Scolus, Lord Mayor of Darwin, always appreciate
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: your time. And for those out there listening wondering why
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: we talk to conn on a Wednesday, now that is
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: what we do. It's a Wednesday morning from now on.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: We used to do it on a Tuesday.
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: Happy to talk to you even on Saturday.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: If you want good on your corn. Thank you,