Shell Cove deal still under wraps

LOUISA RUST

IT IS most unlikely now that the Shell Cove management agreement, whose accessibility caused so much controversy at a recent Shellharbour Council meeting, will be distributed to councillors, council’s corporate solicitor Bruce McCann told last Tuesday’s night’s council meeting.

Councillors had been told previously that legal advice would be sought on whether they could be issued with a copy of the agreement made between the council and the developer, Australand, after Cr Michelle Greig’s motion to have the agreement distributed to councillors was ruled out of order by the mayor, Cr David Hamilton.

Cr Greig’s motion, in which she called for more access to the agreement for councillors, generated an intense debate at the meeting, resulting in the mayor ordering a 15-minute adjournment.

Cr Hamilton had said, at the time, that the motion was unlawful, after council had received a letter from an Australand executive, Mr Peter Burke, a few hours before the council meeting outlining the company’s opposition to any modification to the confidentiality of its agreement with Shellharbour Council.

Cr Hamilton said he had to rule the motion out of order because of a clause in the management agreement stating that both parties had to agree before releasing the document.

In response to a question without notice from Cr Greig at last Tuesday night’s meeting, on whether the legal advice was yet available, Mr McCann, who is preparing the advice, told the council that it would most likely point to it not being for the agreement to be distributed to councillors.

“The Shell Cove advice is still being prepared, but the short, swift answer is that the information can’t be released without the approval of both parties,” he told councillors.

At present, they can only view the agreement, which was made in 1993, under the watch of a council officer, and they are not able to photocopy it or take notes.

Mr McCann said legal advice was also still being prepared on whether the council could pay Cr Helen Stewart’s court costs from the council’s Land and Environment Court action after she was found guilty of one of three charges of leaking confidential information.

The advice is being prepared by Mr Gerry Holmes, who is representing the council’s corporate body at the public inquiry, in association with Mr David Clarke.