Sea Of Red Tape

Illawarra Mercury

Friday March 25, 2005

By WILLIAM VERITY

LEGAL notices are flying like confetti around Shellharbour City Council as the proposed Shell Cove marina starts to bog down in a quagmire of court cases.

Posted around the deserted Aboriginal campsite on South Shellharbour Beach yesterday were notices signed by council general manager Brian Weir signalling his intention to pursue protesters through the NSW Supreme Court for trespass.

Even the flagposts, two toilets and a strip of corrugated iron painted with the words "Save Bass Point" displayed the laminated notice, attached with legal red ribbon.

The move comes after the council failed to shift the embassy in the Land and Environment Court this week after it became clear it would - at best - clear one Koori and his tent from the land rather than the whole encampment.

That case is adjourned while the next is in process.

But the council notice to quit by 9am on Monday, April 4, will only lead to another futile, and costly court action, according to tent embassy legal representative Alan Oshlack.

"As far as we are concerned, the council has no case here either," Mr Oshlack said.

He disputed the order, saying that the land was originally given to the city of Shellharbour by chemical giant ICI as open space for the benefit of the community.

And he described a farcical situation at council headquarters yesterday morning where protesters attempted to serve their notice on staff - for a Land and Environment Court challenge to the marina - while staff tried to serve the trespass notice back.

Each side refused to accept the other's notice.

Making matters even more complex, Mr Oshlack signalled his intention to lodge a development application for the tent embassy, which would enable protesters to open a fresh front in the Land and Environment Court when they challenged the inevitable refusal from councillors.

That would make four simultaneous court cases concerning the tent embassy, which was set up in November with the aim of stopping development of a 350-berth boat harbour and retail area planned for the site.

A council spokeswoman issued a brief statement yesterday, saying further comment was not legally advisable.

"Shellharbour City Council is strongly committed to investigating all legal options for the cessation of the current occupation of land at South Shellharbour Beach," she said.

© 2005 Illawarra Mercury

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