Multinational and interstate developers are devouring the Northern Rivers region one hectare at a time

 

Alan Edward Larkin
IMAGE: Linkedin

With 30 plus years experience in construction and property development, former managing director and principal of Aspect Property Group in Brisbane and current managing director of Digital Infratech Pty Ltd, Alan Edward Larkin of Coolangatta Qld, joins the conga line of multinational or interstate developers on the make in north-east New South Wales.

Mr. Larkin appears to be part of an alleged consortium involving IRBS1 Pty Ltd formerly trading as Aspect Property Group, Digital Infratech Pty Ltd solely owned by IRBS Holdings Pty Ltd & with Larkin as only listed director and, ASX-listed specialist funds manager Centuria Capital Group (currently $21 billion in assets under management with a $1.7 billion healthcare platform).

According to the Federal MP for Richmond Justine Elliot in February 2022: At the time of the land purchase [in 2019], it was widely publicly reported that Aspect had donated numerous times to the Liberal National Party in Queensland. Searches reveal that Aspect had donated more than $28,000 to the LNP in Queensland, including the infamous LNP Forward Brisbane Leadership Fund.

One has to wonder if the consortium was expecting its largesse in Queensland to translate into favourable treatment by a then Coalition state government in New South Wales.

Echo, 23 November 2023:

The rezoning of the State Significant Farmland (SSF) to build the Tweed Valley Hospital on the Cudgen Plateau near Kingscliff split the community and ultimately came with an ‘iron clad’ promise from local Nationals MP Geoff Provest that no more SSF would be rezoned.

However, the land next to the hospital site was bought by Allan Larkin, Director of Digital Infratech [Managing Director at Digital Infratech Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland], just days before the announcement that the SSF would be rezoned for the Tweed Valley Hospital site. Since then Mr Larkin has proposed a mixed-use site called Cudgen Connection. Initially, they proposed that the site to be part of the stage 2 hospital development but this was rejected. Now they are imminently submitting a development application (DA) that provides private hospital and medical suites, essential worker housing, koala research centre, an education and community housing precinct and more at the 5.7 hectare site.

An artists impression of the new Cudgen Connection

Tweed Councillors write to the government

At the recent Tweed Shire Council (TSC) meeting (16 November, 2023) Councillors voted to write to Premier of NSW, Chris Minns, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, NSW Leader of The Opposition, Mark Speakman, NSW Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Scott Farlow MLC, and Member for Tweed, Geoff Provest to request advice that ‘they will uphold the integrity of the Cudgen Plateau and support the existing retention of State Significant Farmland’.....

Full article can be read at:

https://www.echo.net.au/2023/11/call-to-protect-state-significant-farmland-next-to-tweed-valley-hospital-as-promised/

Has the NSW Premier's brother Charles Perrottet followed property developer Jean Nassif's example and left the country or has he otherwise made himself 'unavailable'?

 

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 7 – PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

MEDIA RELEASE

KEY WITNESSES FAILING TO CO-OPERATE WITH

PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY INTO THE HILLS SHIRE COUNCIL AND PROPERTY DEVELOPERS IN THE REGION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

14 FEBRUARY 2023

The Upper House Portfolio Committee No. 7 – Planning and Environment has continued to face difficulties in summonsing witnesses to appear before it in its inquiry into allegations of impropriety against agents of the Hills Shire Council and property developers in the region.

Ms Sue Higginson MLC, Chair of the committee, said: "The committee invited Councillor Virginia Ellis, Mr Christian Ellis, and Mr Jean-Claude Perrottet to give evidence at a public hearing. When none responded, we resolved to take the significant step of summonsing these individuals. Parliamentary staff have since made multiple attempts to personally serve the summons on these individuals but have been unsuccessful. As none of these witnesses has come forward, I can only reach the conclusion that they are making a deliberate decision to avoid appearing before the committee".

The committee has also issued a summons for Mr Charles Perrottet to attend but understands he may not be in New South Wales at this time.

Ms Higginson continued: "The committee is extremely disappointed in the actions of these individuals in failing to come forward and co-operate. Committee inquiries are an essential part of the Legislative Council's role as a House of scrutiny and review. The failure to cooperate with this committee demonstrates a blatant disregard of Parliamentary process. Noting that we will now step up our efforts to secure the attendance of these individuals at a public hearing, including by engaging professional process servers to serve the summonses, we again call on each one of them to do the right thing and come forward".

Two public hearings will be held on Wednesday and Thursday this week in the Dixson Room, State Library of New South Wales, which will also be livestreamed on the Parliament's website. At this stage, the committee will be taking evidence from the General Manager of The Hills Shire Council and Dr Michelle Byrne, Former Mayor.

Further information about the inquiry, including the terms of reference can be found on the committee's webpage.

-ENDS

BACKGROUND

North Coast Voices, Tuesday, 14 February 2023,

"Only 39 days remaining until the NSW state election and Liberal MP for Epping & Premier Dominic Perrottet's troubles are multiplying" 

YAMBA 2022: There is an eerie fascination in watching a regional planning panel, the local council & property developers argue the case for new large subdivisions in a town which is drowning. How many people have to die before all three tiers of government turn and face the realities of climate change?

"The climate of NSW is changing due to global warming. The effects of climate change on the people and environment of NSW are expected to become more pronounced as the climate continues to change over this century." [NSW Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA) 2021]

In or around 2021 the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) published a table of monthly sea levels for Yamba, a small coastal town in north-east NSW, for the years 1986 to 2020.  

Included as a footnote to this table was the following 

information:

Statistics 

Mean sea level = 0.952 (Average monthly means = 0.951) Maximum recorded level of 2.330 metres at 0900 hours 23/05/2009 Minimum recorded level of -0.138 metres at 1500 hours 02/11/2002 Standard deviation of the observations = 0.3949 metres Skewness = 0.1464

[my yellow highlighting]

The CSIRO "State of the Climate Report 2020" observed that sea levels are currently rising at 3.5 cm (0.035m) per decade. While NSW EPA "NSW State of the Environment Report 2021" stated that the states sea level was 3.5mm (0.035) and rising, with the Port Kembla gauge showing a mean sea level rise of around 10cm (0.1m) since 1991. 

So what does that sea level creep mean for Yamba, a town only two months away from possibly entering a fourth calendar year of increased rainfall exacerbated by La Niña events? A

 town which has experienced Lower Clarence River floods in

 December 2020, March & December 2021 and February-

March 2022. A town situated in a coastal estuary zone within

 the south-east quarter of the Australian mainland and,

 therefore with a recognised high risk of ocean warming/rising

 sea-level. [ NSW Government, Adapt NSW, 2022]

Using the latest inappropriate development application for 6.65ha in the middle of the town - currently before Clarence Valley Council and the Northern Regional Planning Panel - as a constant point the following maps show how rising sea height in the ocean off Yamba may affect local residents.

8 PARK AVE, YAMBA aka PARKSIDE OVER 50s LIFESTYLE COMMUNITY

With a sea-level rise compounding increased rainfall this is potentially what Park Ave and surrounding streets will look like in another 10-30 years at a mean sea-level which has increased by another est. 3.5cm to 10.5cm.

2030: an approximation of the effect of an expected sea-level increase of 3.5cm above 2020 Yamba mean sea-level

https://coastalrisk.com.au/viewer
Click on image to enlarge

North Coast Voices readers will notice that in 8 years time sea water is across Park Ave-Shores Drive intersection for metres, the one road "Parkside" residents can use to leave the lifestyle complex. This possibly will occur at high tide

 each day.

2050: an approximation of the effect of an expected sea-level increase of 10.5cm above 2020 Yamba mean sea-level

https://coastalrisk.com.au/viewer
Click on image to enlarge

By 28 years time in 2050 the lifestyle complex is still relatively intact but has no road access to the rest of Yamba, given the entire length of Shores Drive is under water. The local shopping mall is inundated. Police and ambulance cannot enter the lifestyle village from its single access road. 

In the decades after 2050: an approximation of the effect of a projected sea-level increase of 1.5m above 2020 Yamba mean sea-level

https://coastalrisk.com.au/viewer
Click on image to enlarge

Sometime after 2050 "Parkside Over 50s Lifestyle Community" becomes an ephemeral tidal island in an enlarged estuary.