[Greens-Media] Stockland named *Bad Developer of the Year*

[Mithra Cox]

MEDIA RELEASE
5th August 2005

Stockland named "Bad Developer of the Year"

Stockland has been named the worst of the worst at the Greens Bad Developer Awards last night, for their development of a fragile coastal headland and Aboriginal burial and tool-making site dating to 5000BC at Sandon Point, North of Wollongong.

The Awards, sponsored by Greens MLC Sylvia Hale attracted over 40 nominations for Councils, Government Departments and developers.  

"Developer friendly councils was a very popular category, with Nambucca Shire Council taking out the award for worst Council," Ms Hale said.

"Michael Costa and the RTA won the prize for the worst Government Department for motorway disasters such as the M5 East and Cross City Tunnel at the expense of public transport.

"Rosecorp won an award for the worst case of environmental vandalism for a proposed development on Wallarah Peninsula on the Central Coast.  Despite breaching nearly every possible planning policy and regulation, Rosecorp has taken the council refusal for the DA to the Land and Environment Court.

"The "Destruction of Community Award" was given to Westfield for their shopping malls that hijack major public transport links, forcing commuters to bypass local shops and walk through a Westfield Shoppingtown in order to catch the train.

"Community campaigners and activists were honoured for their role in protecting special places from overdevelopment.

"The joint winners for the "David and Goliath" award for the most inspiring activists were Residents Against Polluting Stacks (RAPS) and the ADI residents Action Group.

"RAPS have been very active campaigning against new motorways and the toxic pollution from the smoke stacks that extract air from road tunnels.

"The ADI Residents Action Group have been fighting for over a decade to preserve the last remnants of the Cumberland Plain woodland in St Marys from the clutches of housing developers," Ms Hale said