Save western Sydney’s former ADI Site. Website of the ADI Residents Action Group
Penrith Council

Penrith Council is the consent authority responsible for determining the Dunheved South Precinct Plan, Western Precinct Plan and Central Precinct Plan. They will also determine all Subdivision Plans and Development Applications relating to these Precincts.

They therefore have the power to oppose any development plans lodged by Lend Lease. At least this appears to be the case depending on the legalities of the Development Agreement that they enter into with Lend Lease. 

Penrith Council until February 2000 stood in solidarity with ADI RAG and a large percentage of the local community in opposing any development of the ADI Site. That changed after February 2000 when the newly elected Labor dominated Council changed its policy to only lobby for protection of the 828 hectares of the site listed in the Register of the National Estate. See their media release announcing their new position and rationale Penrith Council Policy Shift.pdf 25kb

This decision was an absolute cave in and lacked principle. Council based its decision purely on a one line comment from Robert Hill, the former Federal Environment Minister, who told a Senate Estimates Committee pdf 30kb that the Commonwealth was seeking a financial return from the ADI Site. As if this wasn't expected. A principled Council would have continued to oppose the development regardless of the Federal Governments intention to sell the place because it was in the public interest to do so.

The writing was on the wall that Penrith Council was shifting away from protection of the whole site way before Robert Hills statement. 

In April 1999 Senior Environmental Planner Roger Nethercote had authorised a Council Report pdf 26kb recommending Council review its position as to how much of the ADI site should be protected. Council - under pressure from a packed public gallery - rejected the reports recommendations vowing to fight for the whole site. 

It is unknown who the drivers were behind this attempted policy shift. It may have been Mr Nethercote who in hindsight appears to have supported development of the site all along (In 2004 he authored Councils objection to Jackie Kelly's Emergency Heritage listing nomination of the 230 ha Western Precinct), or he may have been acting on behalf of certain councillors that in all truth wanted the site developed.

Prior to the 1999 Council Election there was a pre-selection battle amongst some sitting Labor Councillors. Some left leaning Councillors found themselves demoted down the Labor ticket making it impossible for them to be re-elected, thus paving the way for the Labor right to dominate.

David Bradbury was one of the new Labor Councillors elected and he appeared to spearhead Councils renewed policy shift.

It turned out David Bradbury worked for Steven Hutchins, the NSW Senator from Blacktown. Senator Hutchins was once married to Diane Beamer. Senator Hutchins, would have had a long involvement in trying to get the ADI development up and running being a Blacktown Labor politician. Steven Hutchins was responsible for the questioning of Robert Hill the former Federal Environment Minister during a Senate Estimates Committee about Penrith Councils failed attempts to obtain Natural Heritage Trust funding from the Federal Government to buy back 178 hectares of National Estate listed land within the Penrith Local Government Area of the ADI Site.

Senator Hutchins - obviously through David Bradbury and the Labor network - was well informed of Penrith Councils dealings with the Federal Government when questioning Robert Hill. In hindsight we can see that this questioning under parliamentary privilege was really a veiled attack by Labor on the Liberals, designed to provide David Bradbury, who was being groomed as the next Labor candidate for the Federal seat of Lindsay, with an election platform and ammunition with which to beat up Jackie Kelly. His questioning though provided Penrith Council with enough of an excuse to back flip on its previous policy of wanting to save the entire ADI Site. Check out this page for more on David Bradbury

David Bradbury seized on Councils new policy and commenced to derail ADI RAG's campaign to save the whole site. 

In 2000, with full knowledge he was to be pre-selected as the next Labor candidate, he commenced his election campaign by challenging Jackie Kelly and the Federal Government to protect the 178 ha of RNE listed land within the Federal seat of Lindsay.

We must remember that 828 ha of RNE land was listed by the Australian Heritage Commission in 1999. The NSW Government though had prepared a draft Regional Environmental Plan (SREP 30) for the site that had zoned over 250 ha of the 828 ha of RNE land as suitable for development, excluded from the Regional Park. 178 ha of that area was within the Penrith LGA, thus the controversy.

The issue ADI RAG had with David Bradbury was that, to suit his political agenda, he set about manipulating and confusing the public with his propaganda and rhetoric. He was running a federal election campaign but when pressed for his and Federal Labors policy he would hide behind his role as Penrith Councillor and future Mayor and only give Councils policy.

ADI RAG organised the 1999 - 2001 Werrington Community Festival. At the 2000 Festival Labor was invited to set up a stall. Labor had developed a petition and were asking people at the Festival to sign it.

The petition was misleading, it called for people to save the ADI site lands and people were signing it thinking they were helping to save the whole ADI Site. The fine print revealed they were signing to only stop development of the 178 ha within the Penrith LGA. He then went on to develop a website with an online ADI petition.

All through his campaign he omitted from his propaganda that the NSW Government could stop the development by refusing to rezone the site. That it was the NSW Labor Government that had failed to zone all of the 828ha of RNE land as Regional Park in the first place and that was why over 250 ha of RNE lands was at risk of development. 

In January 2001the NSW Government gazetted SREP 30 failing to zone 250 ha of RNE lands as Regional Park. ADI RAG held an emergency public meeting and called on Penrith Council to act. ADI RAG suggested Council organise a major public rally as it did with its campaign to stop an airport at Badgerys Creek.

ADI RAG held discussions with Council and they expressed hesitation at organising the event themselves (again a reluctance to fully commit themselves to this issue) but suggested ADI RAG ask for funding to organise the event ourselves. The Labor dominated Council approved funding, although it was strongly debated by the Liberals who saw a rally as a threat to Jackie Kelly. 

At this stage of ADI RAG's campaign we were still under the impression that a policy decision by the Federal Government could save the whole site so we put our efforts into lobbying the Federal Government and putting maximum pressure on Jackie Kelly, a favourite of John Howard, who was the sitting member in a very marginal seat. 

The rally was organised for the 1st of April 2001 and Jackie Kelly and David Bradbury were invited to speak as candidates for the upcoming federal election. David Bradbury stated he would only speak at the rally as Penrith Mayor and not as a Labor Party representative (Labors policy was develop the site). Jackie Kelly declined our invitation to even attend (excuse - other commitments on that day) and this was seized upon by David Bradbury.

At the Rally ADI RAG announced its intention to form a new political party, the Save the ADI Site Party, to contest the upcoming Federal Election. This announcement went down poorly with Penrith Labor Councillors who believed they had ADI RAG onside and a free run all the way to the election.

ADI RAG went after both Jackie Kelly and David Bradbury right up to the Federal Election exposing the fact that both of their political parties wanted the site developed. David Bradbury lost the seat of Lindsay and the grapevine says he blamed it on ADI RAG.

ADI RAG's relationship with Labor Councillors has never been the same and several Penrith Councillors have sought their revenge by denigrating our campaign and making personal attacks on ADI RAG members.

Councillor John Thain is one that takes every opportunity to try to demonise ADI RAG. On several occasions ADI RAG members have addressed Penrith Council meetings to express concern with important matters raised in Council Reports. After members of the public finish with their address questions can be put to them by Councillors. Clr Thain has taken this opportunity several times but instead of asking questions relevant to important matters in the Council Report he prefers to rehash the past and ask unrelated questions and make comment designed to embarrass the ADI RAG speaker and to paint ADI RAG as some type of sinister organisation. 

This Council forum is to allow Councillors to hear the concerns and views of its constituents. It is not there to allow them to demonise those who hold views counter to theirs.

At the last Council Election ADI RAG attempted to convince voters to dump the major parties and elect either independent or minor party Councillors, believing that the major parties cannot serve two masters, us and their parties agendas.

We organised a forum called 'Independents Day' to allow voters the opportunity to check out the credentials of the independent and minor party candidates and find out if they are simply stooges for the major parties.

Several high profile independents, one which is now the Mayor, failed to attend the forum despite earlier accepting our invitation. What else can one say.

Despite our efforts to get an independent Council elected, voters chose to reward Labor and Liberal and they retained their numbers. Interestingly the Greens ran for Council for the first time and despite campaigning heavily they failed to get elected in any of the three wards.

We fear that with Labor holding the balance of power with the support of Independent, Jackie Greenow, that Lend Lease will get most of its development plans approved with little scrutiny or amendment.

We urge you to contact your local Councillor and keep them honest and to also make comment on any of Lend Leases development plans they lodge with Penrith Council.

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