SHOALHAVEN City Council’s decision to sell a prime parcel of land to developer Huscorp has rarely been out of the headlines since it was made.
There have been concerns about the price paid, the scale of the development, the capacity for Nowra to sustain the type of hotel proposed, and questions about the site offered.
And now it seems the offer should never have been made in the first place, with some in council apparently aware it was not entitled to sell the block as it was classified as community land.
What is emerging is that some within council knew they needed to go through a lengthy public consultation process before they could sell the land, but went about circumventing that process.
Whether that came about through misunderstanding, incorrect advice or a deliberate attempt to achieve political or social ambitions, regardless of the cost, is unclear at this time.
But the possibility that some within council could have tried to skirt around due processes, believing by the time anyone noticed the process would have been too far down the track to stop, is indeed worrying.
Many of the candidates who are raising their hands for the coming local government elections on September 13 are talking of the need for more transparency.
In light of the latest development with the Huscorp land, the whisper about transparency may well grow to a roar.