Newcastle Herald letters to the editor, August 15, 2020: What's the real 'storey' with unit approvals?

That is the same price ($17 million) paid for the NBN site on which purchasers have applied to build 174 units.

To build 174 flats, the height limit for medium density (five storeys), has been varied to nine storeys, seven storeys and five storeys respectively for the blocks.

Residents lodged nearly 200 objections which have not been addressed.

I surmised that land on the harbour, worth $145,000 per unit, has greater value than land on The Hill at $92,000 per unit.

My assumption was challenged in a recent Saturday Herald, listing land in Adamstown for sale with approval for seven units for $1 million or $143,000 - effectively the same price as land on the harbour.

So land value per unit on the harbour is identical to that per unit in Adamstown.

It is reasonable to conclude this is the "Newcastle" price of units; however the NBN land is nearly $50,000 - more than a third - cheaper per unit. Why is this so?

Was the purchaser expecting to get approval for only 110 units but is trying for the higher number, thus making any more than 110 units a very big unearned gain?

Land value is not taken into account when assessing development applications? Developers understand and take advantage of this. Is our planning system so confused that virtually anything goes?

Is the purchaser involved in raising the value of the site intending to sell it on with approval for 174 units, which increases the land value to more than $25 million, an 'unearned' windfall of over $9 million?

MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

This is just one example of the weaknesses in our planning system, and the difficulties facing residents seeking justice in a system where the rewards can be so temptingly high.

Developers have the means to pay massive legal fees, to use every legal "loophole" or dodge available to them, and of which most ordinary folk have no knowledge, "deemed refusal" being one which gags public debate.

The NBN site is only valued at 110-unit equivalents, and that is the maximum that should be allowed.

Our planning system should not encourage "inadvertent" profiteering from developments such as this.

DARRYL Tuckwell (Short Takes) has voiced a most appropriate concern as while it is true that dangerous material can be stored safely, concerns remain if one of three things happen:

Ammonium nitrate does not distinguish between accidental or intentional events, so if events happen to cause an explosion there is nothing that can be done until the dust is settled. If either or both of the storage facilities at Kooragang Island and Sandgate were to explode either independently or together the devastation would make Newcastle a wasteland with many issues for the Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Port Stephens council areas. The RAAF base could also be affected by the fallout from such an explosion, while Newcastle harbour would be completely inoperative from such an explosion.

While I am certain that SafeWork NSW does an excellent job in monitoring safety standards they do not prevent failures of compliance but rather prosecute companies for non-compliance and therein lies the problem. The history shows that the transport company has a breach notice on handling the product so it is clear that failures can happen and a failure causing a catastrophic explosion is a failure that could always happen. This alone must have storage of this dangerous product away from any housing and other important infrastructure.

Do we have to wait to see how our explosion compares to the Beirut or Texas or France explosions?.

THE resurgence of COVID-19 community transmission in New Zealand after 100 days of "elimination" should put paid to foolhardy attempts to extinguish the virus through lockdowns.

As I have maintained from the outset, it is here to stay so we had best get on with living our lives whilst appropriately resourcing the health system to cope with any surges, and doing our utmost to protect the vulnerable. With only two per cent of Australia's hospital beds occupied by the infected, I think that we are capable of coping.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Governments in Australia have failed on all counts; COVID-19 is cutting a path through nursing homes, whilst people are losing their businesses, homes and livelihoods as a result of demonstrably ineffective lockdowns. What happened in New Zealand will happen in Melbourne, again and again.

Politicians need to come clean. They cannot protect everyone and we must open both our borders and our economy before more lives are lost to suicide, substance abuse, domestic violence and all of the other maladies caused by high unemployment and social isolation.

NATHAN Towney ("Closing the gap: real action or just words", Opinion, 7/8) is quite correct. Australia cannot afford to wait 10 years to get closing the gap right. First Nation expertise about fire management and water management is required now. Australia must deliver reforms that address constitutional recognition immediately.

In 1988 a committee chaired by "Uncle" Bill Smith submitted a Treaty proposal. Bill was the first Aboriginal presence at the university courtesy of Professor Brin Newton-John which led to the formation of the Wollotuka Institute of Aboriginal Teaching and Research at the Biraban Centre. This stands on the site of the ancient First Nation and joint European education by the Awabakal Pambalong Clan which dates back over 80,000 years and is pre-eminent in Australia. Biraban translated the "Lord's Prayer" equally and jointly with the Rev. Lancelot Threlkeld. Nathan please co-opt the world famous First Nation Historian John Maynard and develop this theme further.

FOR years now numerous writers have raised issues about aged care. The industry has never had a minister with the knowledge of it since then Prime Minister John Howard introduced the for profit providers. Since then the industry has become an industry for profit instead of care by some providers. Governments should be investing in training and remuneration for those dedicated aged care workers to provide the care and respect these older Australians deserve.

PEOPLE are all of a sudden concerned about the storage of ammonium nitrate in Newcastle because of the tragedy in Beirut and they're probably right to be a little worried. But these places have been part of Newcastle for years. Guidelines and laws to store this product are more strict and clear than COVID-19 rules and regulations. I also sleep well at night knowing the securities looking after these places, as well as Newcastle, are first-rate and world-class.

CHRISTINE Everingham's letter (Letters, 12/8) about ammonium nitrate storage so close to the city is spot on. The biggest problem with this issue is that it will "go off the boil" and eventually die. We should be maintaining maximum pressure on state and federal MPs and Newcastle council and other local councils to make removal from Kooragang and other local sites a major issue. This is simply another case of Newcastle getting a poor and unacceptable deal.

WHILE we are comparing Beirut with Newcastle, I wonder if the ammonium nitrate stocks do level the city, will the NSW government resign?

WITH all the publicity regarding the danger of having a potential catastrophic explosion in Newcastle harbour, I have yet to hear any comments from the lord mayor or Newcastle council regarding the safety of their residents.

IF the complainants against a pet crematorium in Warabrook are concerned for their welfare I can only hope that we, the residents of Beresfield, are not affected by their eventual passing and final demise. Seventy years of living closer than 200 metres has only made my resolve against these newbies stronger.

IN response to John Arnold, if I follow your ideology the next time I walk past a person of Japanese descent in the street do I ask them to apologise for bombing Darwin? Maybe it's time for everybody to move on. How many times do you want people to say sorry, mate?

JOHN Arnold, the question is where would you be if the brave Captain James Cook was a lefty and stayed home and achieved nothing?

TO the thieves who stole Gav the horse from Sawyers Gully; give him back. He is a loved pet of somebody, possibly a child or children. You can buy retired race horses pretty cheap. Please, just give Gav back, you cretins.