N.B. Abbreviations:
LCC = Lane Cove Council.* 22nd April 1998 ~ Neighbours notified of Building Application before Lane Cove Council for 35 Innes Rd.
* 2nd May 1998 ~ Public meeting held outside 35 Innes Rd to discuss the Building Application.
* May 1998 ~ Petition signed & presented by 127 residents to Lane Cove Council (LCC) to save this bushland.
* 18th May 1998 ~ Council addressed by very concerned residents anxious to preserve the bush and wildlife. Council resolved to look at possibilities of purchasing 35 Innes Rd.
* May 1998 ~ Greenwich Rainforest Reserve Committee (GRRC) formed by a group of very concerned local residents.
* 15th June 1998 ~ Letter from Walter Boles, Zoologist, Australian Museum, read to Council. Mr Boles says...
* 15th June 1998 ~ LCC supports buying the land if owner prepared to sell. Instructs officers to approach Govt for funding if he is.
* 5th July 1998 ~ Community Meeting, Osborne Hall, attended by Councillor Tudge. Residents hear of endangered Hygrocybe and discouraged from fundraising...implication being it is a Federal & State concern. Motions to support declaring the subject bushland a National Reserve; & strongly support Council in their initiatives to approach all possible sources of funding, State & Federal, to purchase 35 Innes Road & add 35 Innes Road to the Upper Lane Cove Bushland Park (ULCBP.)
* ? July 1998 ~ GRRC hastily convene meeting for the local State & Federal MPs - Ms Kerry Chikarovski, Mr Joe Hockey & Dr. Judy Messer (NCC) - Informed about need to save the Hygrocybe, building encroachment at 35 Innes Rd & pollution in Gore Creek.
* 10th July 1998 ~ Letter from Ms Kerry Chikarovski (local MP, Shadow Minister for the Environment at the time. Now leader of the Opposition.) to GRRC, offering to facilitate approach to State & Federal Govt.s for funds.
* 20th July 1998 ~ LCC passes motion to have ULCBP listed on Register of National Estate.
* July 1998 ~ Strong lobbying by GRRC & Dr Judy Messer, Chairperson, Nature Conservation Council NSW (NCC), LCC & others results in action being taken by Sydney Water to investigate leaking sewer in Gore Creek. Result is sewer pipe repair work is 'in the pipeline!'
* July 1998 ~ Commitment by scientists to prepare hygrocybe listing: Threatened Ecological Community under Threatened Species Act.
* 14th August 1998 - 2 species Hygrocybe verified about 75 metres from north-west boundary of 35 Innes Rd.
* 21st August 1998. ~ GRRC receive letter from NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service declining funding for the LCC, saying... 'the area involved is not contiguous with the existing Lane Cove National Park...' (Of course we already knew this!!!)
* 24th August 1998. ~ Councillor Stephen Bowers motion, that independent scientific report look at likely affect building at 35 Innes Rd would have on the Hygrocybe. Mr Simpson nominated.
* 7th September 1998. ~ The Premier, Mr Carr acknowledges our concern, saying he will bring it to the attention of the Min. for the Environment. No response to invitation of a bushwalk. Neither have visited the site as requested. (Its Kerry Chikarovski territory!)
* 21st September 1998. ~ Dr Judy Messer, NCC, tells GRRC that if the Hygrocybe are Listed as Threatened Species (an involved process), the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service is bound by law to prepare a RECOVERY PROGRAMME, and must bring in their resources.
* 21st September 1998. ~ Mr Rod Tindall expressed dismay the Building Application (BA) was still being considered by Council, while controversy over Hygrocybe, approx. 100 metres downstream; also that no LCC response to petition or concerned letters from residents.
* Federal Election 1998 ~ Joe Hockey acknowledges & supports GRRC concern to save the hygrocybe in his campaign. Since the election, he has shown support with grant application forms, BUT the catch - most grants are not relevant until either 35 Innes Rd is saved or the hygrocybe are listed on Threatened Species Act. (Neither yet done! This is out of our hands!!!)
* 6th Oct. 1998 - Department of Urban Affairs & Planning (DUAP) decline our & LCC request for funding.
* 11th Oct. 1998 - GRRC stall at Lane Cove Fair. Petition to State Govt initiated (& signed over next fortnight.)
* 19th Oct. 1998 - LCC meeting - GRRC dispute DUAP response & seek further action from LCC. DUAP trivialise documented Hygrocybe fruitifications being ³about 100m² west of 35 Innes Rd. They also deny wildlife corridor. GRRC subsequently produce aerial photograph to show why 35 Innes Rd IS a Wildlife Corridor.
* 2nd Nov. 1998. ~ Following DUAP response, after rumours Simpson report may support BA, GRRC resolve to seek independent advice from leading academics & authorities overseas. It was now apparent the GRRC efforts were being undermined. This seemed the only way to bypass hidden agendas, politics & undermining of the true issues...to determine whether our concerns were scientifically justified.
* Nov. 1998. ~ Overwhelming overseas academic support! Over 50 emails received from Professors, Doctors & Ph.D qualified academics in related fields of Mycology, Hygrocybe, Urban Ecology, Rainforest habitats, Forestry. Major concerns raised for Edge Effects, Mycelium Coverage, importance of retaining Canopy Cover 100 - 200m from Hygrocybe, Microclimate, Microenvironmental implications of building on 35 Innes Rd bushland, and strong views on the need to provide substantial Buffer Zones to protect the hygrocybe. Also substantial views on importance of Hygrocybe as a species and its place in evolutionary science.
* Nov. 1998. ~ Amended BA presented to LCC. More trees retained, but no Buffer Zone & building line nearer creek than 33 & 37.
* 10th Nov. 1998. ~ GRRC receives letter from wildlife artist Julie Morris, along with painting & photos of Hygrocybe from below 33 & 35 Innes, raising concerns that hygrocybe exist along the creek at or within metres of 35 Innes Rd! (No scientific study here.)
* 16th Nov. 1998. ~ Letter to LCC & Bob Carr, by residents Crowther Ave & Innes Rd, bordering Gore Creek tributary flowing past 35 Innes Rd, strongly supporting buying 35 Innes Rd & GRR.
* 16th Nov. 1998. ~ LCC meeting - GRRC Submissions to LCC., with supportive documentation from 22 overseas experts, 2nd Petition presented, letter & photographs from wildlife artist, Julie Morris & painting of Hygrocybe displayed to Councillors & Council officers.
* 19th Nov. 1998. ~ The Hon. Ian Cohen - Adjournment Speech in NSW Parlt. - calls for action from the State Govt!
* 19th Nov. 1998. ~ Detailed GRRC Submissions tabled in State Govt. (Still no Govt response to Submissions!)
* 24th Nov. 1998. ~ Senator Robert Hill, Federal Minister for the Environment acknowledges GRRC letter of 19.10.98, offers suggestions under the National Reserve System Program...But catch. - Still NO LISTING under Threatened Species Act!
* 24th Nov. 1998. ~ Simpsons report received by Co. Ignores concerns of overseas academics & scientists, saying they haven't visited the site. Regarded by most readers as very ambiguous & inconclusive.
* Nov. 1998. ~ Ms Kerry Chikarovski asked to present Petition to State Govt.
* 6th Dec. 1998. ~ 2nd letter to LCC., by Residents Crowther Ave & Innes Rd, bordering Gore Creek tributary flowing past 35 Innes Rd, requesting Co. to immediately defer consideration of BA for 35 Innes Rd until all possible means of funding thoroughly investigated. Also requests Inspection Committee, preservation of Creek, Petition, Letters & Submissions being placed in LC Library.
* 7th Dec. 1998. ~ Nature Conservation Council writes to Scientific Committee of the NSW to see if it is within its power to request the LCC. to defer any decision to endorse the BA until it has had the opportunity to consider all relevant matters.
* 21st Dec. 1998 ~ LCC.~ GRRC criticises contradictions, simplicity, brevity of Simpsons Report. Extraordinary vote, in which the Mayor, in the absence of one Councillor, voted twice to defeat the status quo (that Council continue to seek funding for 35 Innes Rd).
* 4th week Dec. 1998. ~ GRRC resolves to continue the cause & seek sponsorship to retain 35 Innes Rd bushland & conserve it as the Greenwich Rainforest Reserve.
* Jan. - Feb. 1999. ~ GRRC approach companies for Corporate Sponsorship.
* 27th Feb. 1999. ~ Council Site Inspection. (Yet Councillors DID NOT walk right over the site and DID NOT EVEN VISIT THE CREEK to see the extent of this intrusion.)
* 1st March 1999. ~ Councillors Teirney, Rawlings, Holland, Martin & May approve the building application. Councillors Longbottom, Roberts and Tudge oppose it. Councillors Longbottom and Roberts propose pushing for funding from DUAP. Councillor Bowers is absent. Insufficient support for this proposal.
* 16th July 1999. ~ 35 Innes Rd was again put on the market, this time advertising with DA / BA approval.
* July - December 1999. ~ GRRC sought Corporate Sponsorship. Companies approached & who declined included Compaq, Shell, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ Bank, National Bank.
* August 1999. ~ Colonial State Bank offered to lend money to the Community for the purchase of 35 Innes Rd, subject to the Lane Cove Council or State Govt acting as Guarantor. The State Govt did not respond. The Lane Cove Council declined this opportunity.
* 11th September 1999. ~ Local elections. GRRC strongly endorses Councillors & candidates who supported GRRC. 3 Councillors who voted for the disastrous building approval lost their seats. In the new Councillor our strongest supporters become Mayor & Deputy Mayor.
* October - December 1999. ~ GRRC follow up Corporate leads and await new initiatives from the Mayor.
* 24th February 2000. ~ Sheads First National Real Estate (Chatswood) issued the Community with an ultimatum: Buy 35 prior to mid March or the owner will develop and sell.
* 28th February 2000. ~ The owner personally advised Don Murchison (GRRC) that he has taken the property off the market. He also stated he had a buyer & would commence development sometime late March. He didn't intend to live at 35, but would develop & build prior to GST. HOWEVER he would still prefer to sell to the Community and would await the imminent Community approach to the Lane Cove Council for one third funding on 6th March, which would enable a Natural Heritage Trust application to proceed with extreme urgency.
* 30th February 2000. ~ Don Murchison meets with Eric Armstrong, Lane Cove Council. Advice given - get the Community Petition in to Council on Wednesday, and it will go out with Council papers, to all Councillors the following day.
* 1st March 2000. ~ Petition presented to LLC. Overwhelming Community support for PETITION FROM 32 RESIDENTS OF LOWER INNES RD AND CROWTHER AVE, BORDERING UPON BUSHLAND AND GORE CREEK CATCHMENT:
1. Council immediately agree to utilise Section 94 funds and contribute one third of the purchase price for 35 Innes Rd (anticipated amount ~ $150,000.)
2. Write immediately to the Federal Minister for the Environment and Environment Australia (Natural Reserve System) to convey Councilıs decision to provide one third funding of $150,000.
3. Request the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to write urgent supportive letters to the Federal Minister for the Environment and Environment Australia, with a copy forwarded to Mr Joe Hockey (as our local Federal MP.)
4. Request the General Manager, Lane Cove Council, to write urgent supportive letters to the Federal Minister for the Environment and Environment Australia, with a copy forwarded to Joe Hockey (our local MP.)
* 6th March 2000. ~ Community finds at the Council meeting that the Petition, along with vital accompanying background information, was NEVER PASSED ON TO COUNCILLORS!
With Councillor Bowers, a supporting Councillor away, and the owners deadline, Deputy Mayor Ian Longbottom posed the motion for Council to advance the cause & look into Council funding up to $150,000. The Deputy Mayor was quick to point out that this was a bargain opportunity to add to the Bushland Park. Motion seconded by Councillor Fay Worner and supported by the Mayor Anthony Roberts. Councillor Rawlings, Vissel & May voted against the motion, along with Councillor Tudge (who had given a verbal commitment to support Council funding for $150,000. Councillor Rule abstained after listening to Gen. Man. Henry Wong speak, with reference to previous debates with the predominantly unsupportive previous Council.
* 7th March 2000 and after ... ~ Moves are afoot for a Rescission Motion. This has strong support from several Councillors. The public are asked to support a Rescission Motion.
* 7th March 2000 The Nature Conservation Council, NSW, advises that the "NSW Scientific Committee has made a Final Determination to list the Hygrocybeae Community of Lane Cove Bushland Park as an Endangered Ecological Community under Part 3 of Schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 . The Hygrocybeae Community of Lane Cove Bushland Park is an assemblage of more than 20 species of fungi. Other species in the Community have been collected but remain undescribed and unclassified."
* 14th March 2000 - follow up petition presented to Lane Cove Council, signed by 35 directly affected residents. (Most residents of lower Innes Rd & Crowther Avenue bordering directly upon Gore Creek tributary which flows between Innes Rd & Crowther Ave. Most petitioners border upon the Lane Cove Bushland Park, have bushland on their properties, or walk through the Park on a regular basis.)
OVERVIEW:
On 1st March 2000 a petition of 32 directly affected residents was presented to Council. Council officers were expecting this petition. They knew it was vital that the material reached Councillors so a decision could be made on Monday 6th March 2000, for Council to support the Communityıs application for Natural Heritage Trust funding for 35 Innes Rd. It was also known that the owner had informed the Community that he would prefer to sell to the Community to retain the bushland, but gave the Community the ultimatum, that evidence of funding must become apparent by mid March or he would commence development within the month. A Council officer told Don Murchison that as long as the Community presented Council with the Petition on Wednesday, it would be included with Council papers the following day. The Community were unaware that this procedure had not been followed until during the Council Meeting on 6th March 2000.
The issue was briefly debated, in Council, on Monday 6th March 2000. It became clear that new Councillors were not fully informed of the issues involved. It also became apparent that the General Manager was not prepared for Councillor questions and furthermore had not acquainted himself with the contents of the petition, the specifics relating to this Natural Heritage Trust application, and the composition of the Petitioners. A motion, put by Deputy Mayor Ian Longbottom, seconded by Councillor Fay Worner and supported by the Mayor Anthony Roberts, was narrowly lost, with one councillor who was new to this issue abstaining and one Councillor the community expected to support this Community initiative absent from Council.
WE, THE RESIDENTS OF LOWER INNES RD & CROWTHER AVE, BORDERING UPON THE GORE CREEK TRIBUTARY WHICH FLOWS BETWEEN INNES RD AND CROWTHER AVE, & LC BUSHLAND PARK PETITION THE LANE COVE COUNCIL TO:
1. Immediately rescind the previous motion with regard to the decision made on the night of 6th March 2000, in relation to 35 Innes Rd.
2. Include the original Petition of 1.3.2000 in Council Papers on 16.3.2000, along with supportive background information supplied.
3. Reconsider & support one third of the acquisition cost of 35 Innes Rd, so the Community can apply for the remaining two thirds from the Natural Heritage Trust.
4. Fully support the Community they represent, by writing a fully supportive letter to the Federal Minister for the Environment. We request copies of this letter to be forwarded to our local Federal MP, Joe Hockey; Environment Australia; the local Community (c/o John Forest, 16 Crowther Ave) and the Greenwich Rainforest Reserve Committee (c/o David Lloyd, 15 Hinkler St.)
* 20th March 2000 - Lane Cove Council Meeting. Extensive debate re. rescission motion. Motion narrowly defeated 5 - 4 votes.
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