New Call to Halt Quarantine Station Sell-off and Desecration 

The National Parks Association of NSW has joined the Friends of Quarantine Station in calling for an immediately halt to the leasing process for the Quarantine Station at North Head in Sydney Harbour National Park. 

At their AGM yesterday, Friends of Quarantine Station unanimously passed the following motion: 

The Friends of Quarantine Station call upon the State Government to immediately halt the leasing process for the North Head Quarantine Station because it is fundamentally flawed ( click for full motion). 

“It is only now that we have a clear picture of what is planned for the site”, said Andrew Cox, NPA Executive Officer.

“The EIS for the redevelopment of Quarantine Station by Mawland was released last week. But more importantly, last Thursday the NSW Parliament Upper House approved the full release of the Conditional Agreement between the Minister for the Environment and Mawland Hotel Management.” 

“This follows attempts by Richard Jones MLC to request the document under Parliament’s powerful document tabling provisions.” 

“The Government has refused access to the agreement ever since a Freedom of Information request was lodged in January 2000 and a subsequent appeal made to the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal by Friends of Quarantine Station. The Government insisted that the agreement with Mawland should not be subject to full public scrutiny.” 

“Government initially refused a request for the tabling of the document by Parliament’s Upper House. Then an independent Queens Counsel ruled that the agreement should be released ‘in the public interest’ ”, said Mr Cox. 

“The Conditional Agreement signed by Mawland and the Minister for the Environment on 24 January 2000 reveals the dangers of privatisation of national park management.” 

“The Quarantine Station currently generates a profit of about $600,000 each year for the National Parks and Wildlife Service.” 

“However, the NSW Government wants to lease the site to a developer for forty-five years under an arrangement that not only compromises the cultural values of the site, but siphons off future income to the developer at what appears to be a great expense to the Government.” 

“The conditional agreement should never have been negotiated in secret, nor the heritage significance of the Quarantine Station sacrificed. The Government should immediately stop lease negotiations,” concluded Mr Cox. 

Contact:            Andrew Cox   9299 0000 (w)

Unanimous Motion

Friends of Quarantine Station AGM

Sunday 23 September 2001.

The Friends of Quarantine Station call upon the State Government to immediately halt the leasing process for the North Head Quarantine Station because it is fundamentally flawed in that:

1.      the Conditional Agreement to Lease the site to Mawland Hotels Ltd, completed prior to completion of the Conservation Management Plan for the site, inappropriately pre-empts and directs the Conservation Management planning process, to a point which makes a mockery of due process and public input to conservation management of the place as a heritage site;

2.      the professional input provided by members of the Detailed Area Conservation Management Plan Reference Group was repeatedly treated with undue disregard, to an extent which compromises the  whole basis upon which the Mawland development proposal is predicated;

3.      the leasing process is proceeding even though the State Heritage Council has clearly indicated that if approved, the development would "materially affect the significance of the subject site as an item of environmental heritage"; and

4.      the financial justification for the entire leasing process is entirely inadequate.

  For further comment :  Andrew Cox 9299 0000

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