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Wollongong City Council won’t set up a Lake Illawarra management committee until the NSW government clears up ‘‘the unholy mess’’ over lake funding, says Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery.
Wollongong councillors have rejected the government’s plan to hand over $6.5million lake foreshore assets and land to the council, unless all land was included and funding of more than $22million over 10 years was guaranteed.
Councillor Bradbery said the government had taken over income-generating property along King Street, Warrawong.
Wollongong and Shellharbour councils have yet to set up a joint estuary management committee to replace the abolished Lake Illawarra Authority.
‘‘We wanted to get an idea of the assets we’re going to look after, the state of those assets and where the funding is going to come from,’’ Cr Bradbery said.
‘‘We haven’t got an answer and we’re in a state of limbo. It’s not that we don’t want to progress it [the committee] but we want a clear indication that the state government would come to the party with some funds, otherwise the ratepayers of Wollongong will have to foot the bill.’’
Cr Bradbery said Wollongong council controls about two-thirds of the lake and, while the lake entrance and minor ports would be managed by the RMS, the loss of the LIA was a challenge.
Save Lake Illawarra Action Group chairman Col Wilton said he was not concerned about the committee delay.
He said the quality of the water in the lake depended on the land around the lake, which was the responsibility of Wollongong and Shellharbour councils and the government, never the LIA.
He criticised the government’s move to take over the income-generating assets and charge the council a licence fee for the jetties.
‘‘It’s a bit rude to say the least...the assets should be handed back to the council and they can have the income – that’s only reasonable.’’
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson said the government had ‘‘wiped its hands of the committee’’ after Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner responded to her questions in Parliament by saying the final decisions and process to set up the committee rested with Wollongong and Shellharbour councils.
Ms Watson said ‘‘it was one of the biggest cost-shifting swindles I have seen in a while by the state government’’.