Ex-chairman says harbour committee has no power
Posted
Updated
The former chairman of the Darwin Harbour Advisory Committee says it is unlikely the body can survive because it does not have any real power.
John Bailey was the third person to quit the committee when he resigned last week after the Northern Territory election.
He says the community does not trust the committee or either political party to look after the environment when it is considering development opportunities.
"Quite clearly there is not a confidence out there in the community that the environmental protection and planning for the greater Darwin area is occurring, and that I think is the reality of the situation no matter what governments of any colour is saying, and we need that information," he said.
Mr Bailey says the committee served no real purpose and had very little influence.
"It became more and more part of almost the corporate badging of Government rather than being seen as an independent body," he said.
"In other words, even our letterheads and that had to comply with departmental guidelines, and we'd say, no, no, no, we're an independent advisory body."
