NEIGHBOURS FROM HELL

P O Q U

& U 2  C S I R O

At the Parliamentary Public Works Committee Hearing of 16 November 1999, the Vice Chancellor Prof John Hay claimed that the University of Queensland behaved as a good citizen in its liaison with the local community, vunerable to the dangers of the UQ/CSIRO Joint Building Project, scheduled to commence construction in December, 1999.

An earlier public meeting of 6 October chaired by Hon Denver Beanland MLA, to discuss residents concerns at the massive laboratory complex, heard Prof Hay assert that "the University is mindful of being a good neighbour" and was establishing a Community Liaison Committee for the construction period. They would continually monitor "noise, damage, safety, traffic and those sorts of things". "It is University policy to have the closest possible two-way collaboration to identify issues where problems have arisen and need immediate solution and so on. It is a frank and clear commitment," claimed Prof Hay, in his evidence to the PWC hearing.

Yet to date, the Community Liaison Committee has not been established, and has not met, weekly as suggested, monthly, or at all.

The fundamental problem is that it was a wrong idea in the first place to establish Biohazardous laboratories in the residential suburbs of Brisbane. No amount of appeasement on waffling with words will satisfy the community put at risk, and suffering the diminution of property values and erosion of residential amenity inherent in such an inappropriate over-development of the campus as the proposed UQ/CSIRO Joint Building Project.

It may be a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) issue, but it is fundamentally flawed, and a tragedy that the proponents didn't engage the community in an effective "Community Consultation" to negotiate a solution that would suit all parties. All that is left now is "bulldozer diplomacy"!   So,

P O Q U  & U 2  C S I R O

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The Rivermouth Action Group Inc

activist@rag.org.au

as a community service.