NEWCASTLE — On May 12, 80 residents rallied outside the government’s planning department office to protest developer Hardie Holdings’ proposal to construct a “village” on a 2300-hectare site between North Rothbury and Branxton, with 28,000 residential lots along with commercial and industrial zones.

“It’s going to be bigger than Maitland — the Lower Hunter Strategy estimates an increase of 125,000 people for the whole Hunter Valley and this puts most of them here”, said Bob Brough from the Sweetwater Action Group, which is opposed to the development because it will clear the last remaining bushland in the area. Another speaker at the rally pointed out that 75% of the wetlands in the Hunter region have been lost because of unrestricted commercial development.

Matthew Bunn

From Green Left Weekly, May 24, 2006.
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