The mayor using his casting vote to break the deadlock after a marathon debate means that only half of Campbelltown’s councillors will maintain the rage over the proposed relocation of iconic Hurlstone Agricultural High School and the sale of its farmland for housing.
There will be no letters to Premier Mike Baird condemning the decision, as suggested by Councillor Anoulack Chanthivong, who warned at last night’s council meeting he would fight this decision to the bitter end.
And there will be no protest rallies organised and financed by Campbelltown Council as a result of the vote.
The Liberal Party mayor, Paul Hawker, used the two votes he is entitled to – one as a councillor and one as mayor – to get his own motion over the line 8-7.
It means the council will now just write a letter to the Premier, the Minister for Education and the Department of Education “requesting that they reconsider moving Hurlstone Agricultural High School from Glenfield to Hawkesbury’’.
By way of comparison, Cr Chantivong’s motion reflected more accurately the fury and anger in the community over this decision.
As well as calling on the Baird Government to abandon the proposed sell off of Hurlstone and its farm, they wanted council to condemn the government and education minister Adrian Piccoli for “their hypocrisy in the proposed total sell off of Hurlstone AHS and its farm to property developers.’’
The motion also called for an urgent meeting with Mr Baird and his minister, and for council to organise a protest rally early in 2016 to give the community a chance to show how it feels about the decision on Hurlstone.
But none of those things will now happen following the vote last night.
Instead, the mayor’s successful motion means council’s letter to the State Government will merely “express disappointment for the lack of consultation with Campbelltown City Council and school community regarding the relocation of an iconic school’’.
In debate, Cr Hawker told council he had a meeting with the Department of Education and representatives of the Department of Transport last Friday.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“I left them in no doubt as to what we thought about the decision and that they did not consult with us,’’ the mayor said.[/social_quote]
The mayor also revealed that new council manager Lindy Deitz had an opportunity to speak to the Premier about the issue.
However veteran Labor councillor Rudi Kolkman said the mayor’s motion was more or less saying “the white flag’s up’’.
“This is an abject failure to represent the people of Campbelltown,’’ he said.
“It’s a wishy washy approach, it says we surrender, that we are rolling over,’’ Cr Kolkman said.
Liberal councillor George Greiss disagreed when it came his turn to speak on the issue.
“This motion is saying we want the government to change its mind – we are all standing up to them.
“There is no need to have a rally on this issue.’’
Cr Chanthivong said there was great anger and disappointment in the community over the State Government decision on Hurlstone.
“I can tell you the Hurlstone P&C have written to the minister and told him they will not co-operate in any way with what he plans to do on the site.
“The alumni of Hurlstone are also angry and many of them have children attending the school.
“And if the sale of the land goes ahead this will be the biggest domino as far as the Scenic Hills is concerned – this is a dangerous proposition.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“This is a greedy cash grab and destruction of our local environment,’’ Cr Chanthivong told the council.[/social_quote]
“And for what – more urban splatter,’’ he said.
“We should always be trying to conserve and protect our open spaces – your motion, Mr Mayor, only protects the Liberal Party.’’
