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General News

13 February, 2020

MSC Mayor blasts government Minister

The Mayor of the Mareeba Shire Council Tom Gilmore has sent a letter to Minister Cameron Dick, in relation to the temporary local planning instrument.

By Phil Brandel

MSC Mayor blasts government Minister - feature photo

The Mayor of the Mareeba Shire Council (MSC) Tom Gilmore has sent a letter to the Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, and Industry Cameron Dick, in relation to the temporary local planning instrument (TLPU) that was imposed on the MSC last year.

The involuntary TLPI was placed upon the MSC, making it nearly impossible for the council to subdivide land that is less than 60 hectares.

In the letter to the Minister, Mayor Tom Gilmore wrote: “I write to express my, and my community's disappointment and exasperation at your unfortunate action in respect of the capacity of my Council to function according to the needs and wants of our community, whilst always respecting the integrity and potential of our rural land and landscape.”

The current TLPI will last for 2 years, meaning it will be inherited by the next council after the upcoming local elections on March 28. Mayor Gilmore also addresses the issue that no prior warning or consultation took place from the Ministers department prior to the TLPI being gazetted.

“Your action was ill-advised and based upon a seriously flawed document unfit for the purpose of advice to a Minister of the Crown. Further, your failure to offer me the opportunity to provide a contrary opinion or to refute the detail of the document reinforces the view that the decision was rushed and that you may well have had an ulterior motive - that being the restriction of any development west of the range, which may have an impact on the carrying capacity of the Kuranda Range Road.”

The letter ends with “By way of interest, both Douglas Shire and Cairns Regional Council areas enjoy the privilege of 40 ha minimum lot sizes in rural areas; both of which comply with the Far North Queensland Regional Plan.”

To read Mayor Gilmore’s letter in full click here: https://wp.me/paM14x-1zp

The Ministers department has been contacted for a comment.

 

 

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