City of Melville councillor Duncan Macphail.
Camera IconCity of Melville councillor Duncan Macphail. Credit: Supplied/Stuart Horton

Melville councillor calls wave park opponents ‘hypocrites’

Headshot of Josh Zimmerman
Josh ZimmermanMelville Gazette

Speaking at last month’s council meeting, Cr Macphail tabled documents that he believed showed resistance to revegetation efforts on the part of some Pelican Cove residents.

Among the documents is a 2001 Bushcare report examining the success of the City of Melville’s Foreshore Restoration Strategy that states that revegetation efforts at the Pelican Cove site had been delayed by up to 18 months because of strong objections from nearby residents.

“Residents at the adjacent retirement village have raised objections that trees and shrubs to be planted would obstruct their currently uninterrupted views of the Swan River,” the report said.

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Cr Macphail also included a handful of letters dated from 2001 from residents objecting to the Pelican Cove rehabilitation plan on the basis of lost views and decreased property values.

“I tabled the documents to highlight the inconsistency or even hypocrisy of some of the current Pelican Cove residents in claiming that the wave park will be an environmental disaster when their section of the foreshore directly opposite has become denuded, shows lack of biodiversity and evidence of human intervention against some of the existing trees,” he said.

The Alfred Cove Action Group (ACAG) has led opposition to the wave park and has a large contingent of Pelican Cove residents.

“It’s a very long bow he is trying to draw,” ACAG convenor David Maynier said.

“The comments were made more than 15 years ago by residents who, as far as we know, may have no connection with ACAG’s opposition to the wave park.”

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