Coincidence is a strange thing ! People tend to be suspicious when seemingly unrelated events converge.
The state government of New South Wales recently introduced legislation to enable them to acquire private property when a refusal to sell or negotiate would thwart a commercial development.
The government has long had the ability to forcibly acquire private property when refusal to yield would prevent a public works programme from proceeding.
For instance, when your home stood in the way of a new freeway.
The difference in this new law is that it allows the government to intercede in what was previously a purely private enterprise matter. The government can acquire property at a valuation established by the Valuer General - and then on-sell it to a developer at any price it cares to nominate.
And that is where coincidence rears it's ugly head !
The city of Wollongong has recently had a bad press because of corruption. The council has been sacked and administrators appointed. Now it seems that there is a new development with a problem.
A plan is at an advanced stage to raze an entire city block within the CBD to double the size of the shopping precinct with a six story development. This multi-million dollar project is in competition with a similar proposal at the other end of the CBD and it is likely that one - but not both - will be commercially viable.
The problem with the demolition plan is that the development has not yet received formal approval - and is waiting for Development Minister Frank Sartor to give it the nod.
The other problem is that the developer does not own one crucial property in the centre of the block to be developed. This is tenanted by a leading whitegoods discounter - who states that they have no plans to move !
Many could be forgiven for thinking that this new piece of legislation and the obstacle to the development proceeding could be linked.
At the same time, many would be intensely interested to know what - if any - donations that developer has made to the Australian Labor party !
With that level of interest it is inevitable that such questions will eventually be answered !
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