The NSW Land and Environment Court is a specialist body with a wide jurisdiction responsible for interpreting and enforcing environmental law in the State. According to the charter a hearing presided over by a Judge of the Court cannot be appealed other than on errors of law.
This system is ripe for conflict between democratically elected representatives and unelected Judges. The application to build an Islamic School in Camden is a case in point.
According to Local and State Planning Authorities the application by the Quaranic Society breaches every planning instrument which has been developed to protect the social, historic and economic integrity of local communities.
The application generated a massive community protest as the land is not zoned for educational purposes and there is no local demand for such a school. Local objectors noted that there are numerous sites zoned for educational purposes in the new growth areas of Bringelly and Oran Park. They also noted that these sites are closer to suburbs that have large concentrations of Islamic families.
Land zoned for educational purposes is more expensive than the proposed site which is zoned for primary production. The proponents of the Islamic school stand to make a windfall profit if they are successful in their appeal to have the zoning changed.
They have skilfully played the reverse-race card to support their development. Pigs’ heads were mysteriously placed on the proposed site (one can only wonder if they were the same ones used to gain a similar reaction at Annandale a couple of years ago!). Religious zealots from both sides of the secular divide were joined by the odd redneck to share their 15 seconds of fame in front of a baying media.
Camden Council, to their great credit, refused to enter the secular debate and maintained their focus on existing planning laws. They sought additional information from the proponents of the school but were ignored. Submissions from professional planners at State and Local Government level were unanimous in their objections to the development. Camden Councillors were unanimous in their decision to reject the proposal based on this advice.
The strategy of the proponents then became clear. Kaiser Trad, media spokesman and public apologist for Sheik El Hilaly, branded the decision as racist. Silvertail lawyer, Jeremy Bingham boasted that he had never lost a case in Court.
Democracy is well on the way to getting shafted under their skilful use of reverse-racism and the ‘law’. Christmas Eve was used as a cut-off date for new submissions and the middle of the Easter holidays was chosen for the Court to sit in Camden. A cruel irony for busy families who might have wanted to register their objections.
Tags: Camden, Development, Environment, Islam, Legal, Local Government, Planning
