Hawks Nest paradise under threat
Hawks Nest is a quiet seaside town on the NSW mid-coast with a population of just 1200 residents. In 2002, the town was declared an Aboriginal Site of Significance due to its rich cultural history and a gathering place for the Worimi people for over 40,000 years.
This beautiful place is home to many threatened species such as migratory shorebirds, iconic koalas and grey-headed flying foxes. There is so much to see on the local nature walk on the ‘Wildside’ especially in springtime when the wild flowers are out.
Sadly, this piece of paradise could be under threat from plans by the Obeid family to develop a large area of beachside property into what could be a massive hotel, apartment and retail precinct. At present there is no development on this land and on the west side of the road there is a habitat corridor into a national park to the north. This corridor is well known for its biodiversity including many species of native plants and animals.
Your support is needed to stop this proposed medium density housing project on the Hawks Nest sand dunes as recently shown on ABC’s Four Corners – ‘Obeid Inc: the secret deals making the Obeid family millions.’ According to Four Corners ‘the Obeids have concealed their involvement in a $100-million beachside apartment project in the tiny town of Hawks Nest.’
Angered by the prospect of this project going ahead, local residents launched an e-petition to try and stop the massive development. Myall Koala and Environment Group (MKEG) is supporting this petition and has asked its members to sign it. The North Arm Cove Community Group has also added its support.
MKEG Secretary, Ian Morphett, said ‘This petition has had an amazing response having now achieved over 25,000 signatures. Although this response is likely to command the attention of politicians, a change.org petition has no legal standing.’
Therefore the Hawks Nest community is seeking support once again for signatories – this time to a formally registered Parliamentary ePetition which, if it achieves at least 20,000 signatures from NSW residents, will force a debate on the issue in State Parliament. Further details behind the ePetition are set out in the following link:
It is important that our voices are heard and that the State Government review all unreasonable development applications.
Please share this news page with your friends and family and on your social media platforms.
Useful links:
- ABC’s Four Corners – ‘Obeid Inc: the secret deals making the Obeid family millions.’
- ABC News – Mystery millions
Further Reading:
- Myall Koala and Environment Group
- Living Strong Nature Journaling Bundabah – sharing knowledge of nature, culture, arts and science. Nature walks and art workshops available all year round – email us for more details or see our facebook page.