Council back in court over North Lismore Plateau development

INDIGENOUS elder Mickael Ryan has taken Lismore City Council back to court over rezoning for development on the North Lismore Plateau.

Bundjalung elder Michael Ryan delivering a NSW Land and Environment Court Summons on the Lismore City Council. Picture: Leah White

LISMORE City Council will be back in court this month over its green lighting of development on the North Lismore Plateau.

The council was served with the NSW Land and Environment Court summons yesterday morning which lists a number of breaches and failures with the Cultural Heritage Assessment and public exhibition.

Bundjalung Aboriginal elder and Native Title holder for North Lismore area Mickey Ryan is spearheading the legal action on behalf of North Lismore Plateau Association.

"To me it means everything," he said.

"My family, they're buried on the mountain.

"My grandfather's water hole's up on the mountain, my great great grandfather's water hole is up there.

"That's our country. That's our sacred place. It's our most significant site in the Lismore District.

"I just want to save my land."

Last year Mr Ryan, with help from the NSW Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), successfully challenged the validity of zoning changes for the North Lismore Plateau.

Lismore City Council development and compliance manager Peter Jeuken said the summons had been referred to council's solicitors for review.

"We will consider our options in response to the specific claims against the rezoning process."

Indigenous Justice Advocacy researcher Al Oshlack, who will be representing Mr Ryan in court, said the NSW Planning Minister only approved the zoning change for public exhibition on the condition the cultural heritage assessment be updated.

Despite this, Mr Oshlack said council put the zoning change on public exhibition without considering a far more thorough and recent report that was days out from completion.

"That final archaeological report had excavated about four or five new aboriginal sites that weren't in the previous report and all those sites will be destroyed by the proposed development," he said.

Mr Oshlack said they would argue the 2012 'Converge' report, which the council put on public exhibition, was outdated and insufficient because it was done by a person "who had no qualifications."

He said council was also instructed by the minister to undertake a European Heritage assessment of extensive dry stone walls on the site, which was never completed.

"There's also a European Heritage question over the development as well because on the Plateau are all these very old dry stone walls and they're the largest and most extensive stone walls anywhere on the north coast," Mr Oshlack said.

"They haven't even reached a point where they can determine whether those dry stone walls were European or Aboriginal."

Mr Oshlack said they were also seeking legal advice about a Federal Court challenge over a number of Commonwealth endangered species on the Plateau.

In particular, the rare Thorny Pea native plant species, 90% of which is found only on the North Lismore Plateau.

The summons is listed for the NSW Land and Environment Court on July 29.