A public meeting on the future of Wollongong Harbour tonight will be bereft of Labor Party MPs from the Illawarra as the threat of another Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation hangs in the air.
The meeting was organised by Reclaim Our City, and its spokesman, Arthur Rorris said all Members of Parliament were invited.
"We haven't had any acceptances from local ALP state members," he said.
Mr Rorris said the community was concerned about the process of the harbour redevelopment and the secrecy surrounding the plans.
The State Government handpicked a committee to give community feedback, however even they do not have access to the six proposals for the harbour that are with the Government.
"There are questions from the community that the Government may have gone out of its way to be secretive and not allow community scrutiny or input in terms of their plans," Mr Rorris said.
"If that's the case, there may be an ICAC referral coming out of this."
Flyers advertising the meeting expressed concern that the Government was trying to sell off the harbour to private developers.
"Most people are in disbelief that the Government can do what it's doing, by selling one of our assets from under our feet, without showing the community its plans," Mr Rorris said.
One representative who will attend the meeting is David Fuller, chairman of the consultative committee selected by the Government to provide feedback on the future of the harbour.
Mr Fuller said he will be listening for any feedback from the community to take back to the committee.
The group met for the first time last week and mostly agreed on the important issues affecting any development of the harbour, he said.
"It's seen as an iconic part of the city, it has a significant history and preservation of parts of the site are very important in any proposal," Mr Fuller said.
The committee's work is higher than any one proposal, Mr Fuller said, as it is looking at what is best for the whole of the harbour.
"The process we're going through at the moment is really to provide feedback from the community on what does the community want to see in that harbour area in terms of buildings it would like to see, where they would like to see them, where they would like to see enhanced public facilities," he said.
Mr Fuller said the committee had been receiving feedback from residents who had phoned him and other members with suggestions and opinions.
Wollongong MP Noreen Hay said she would not be able to make the public meeting as Parliament will be sitting this week.
However, she reaffirmed her stance against any development on Flagstaff Hill. "In fact I managed to get an assurance from the minister that there would be no development in that area," she said.
Ms Hay said she will also be keen to see the plans for the harbour, saying the area needed to be freshened up.
"Above all, they need to keep it family friendly and an area the community continues to have the benefit of," she said.
The six proposals for the harbour remained under wraps due to corporate confidentiality, Ms Hay said, and added that just because there were proposals, this did not mean it was a fait accompli.
"It will go out for public comment."
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