Letter to the Blue Mountains Gazette on the Position of the Blue Mountains Conservation Society towards the Emirates Proposal
Friday 16 March 2007
Dear Editor,
Emirates Modified Concept Plan (Reject New Plan, BMG 14 March, p14)
The Blue Mountains Conservation Society supported the original concept
plan for the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort. It provides
qualified support for the modified concept plan.
The original concept plan was supported because the Emirates' lands form a buffer for the
Wollemi National Park, and their greater proportion would be
established as a fauna and flora reserve. Furthermore, the original concept plan
complemented the Gardens of Stone Stage 2 Proposal (GoS2) for better
protecting Newnes Plateau and the western escarpment, and clearly
benefited regional tourism. None of these reasons has changed.
In March 2006, Emirates asked to exchange small areas of cattle-degraded
land in the immediately adjacent Wollemi National
Park, for larger areas of native-vegetated Emirates' land.
The modified concept plan formalised this by citing Minister Debus' in principle agreement
to exchanging 39.5 ha of Wollemi National Park for 114.5 ha of Emirates' land. Although
poorly defined in the modified concept plan, Emirates satisfactorily identified the areas
on large-scale maps at a meeting in Katoomba (December 15) and on a
Wolgan Valley site visit (December 22).
Emirates concurrently advised (in the modified concept plan) that some resort buildings
would be on Wollemi National Park land that they were to be ceded under the
land-swap.These details were also clarified at the Katoomba
(December 15) and Wolgan Valley (December 22) meetings.
Because the land-swap was subject to negotiations over indigenous
heritage issues, the Minister agreed in principle to Emirates enacting an
interim lease over the 39.5 ha of Wollemi National Park. Some question the legality of this
process, and consequently oppose the modified concept plan because it requires development
in Wollemi National Park.
BMCS' support for the modified concept plan is contingent upon the successful and legal
completion of the land-swap, and/or the legality of the leasing agreement
being substantiated. These matters, and other concerns, were included in
the Society's submissions to the NSW Department of Planning and the
Federal Department of the Environment and Water Resources.
The Society contends that the governments and Emirates must resolve these
uncertainties, because the Wolgan Valley resort's environmental and
other benefits should not be lost to the region.
Brian Marshall,
President, BMCS.