A proposed moon viewing platform at Meelup has suffered community backlash after the City of Busselton opened the design concept for public consultation.
City of Busselton planning and development services director Paul Needham said establishing a moon viewing platform was a long-time vision of the Meelup Park Committee.
The committee includes people with particular interest in Meelup Regional Park and a broad range of knowledge in the fields of natural resource management.
However, many disgruntled Dunsborough residents took to social media about the project, which they labelled ‘silly’ and ‘a complete and utter waste of time’.
None were more disappointed than traditional custodians Wayne and Zac Webb who feel they’ve been bypassed in the planning process.
The Webb’s concerns include the lack of cultural consultation, the necessity for the structure and what the impact of the attraction would do to the environment.
Wayne Webb said he was worried the popular location could become like ‘The Beach’ location in Thailand, which was now closed indefinitely to recover from the damage of tourists.
“There is already a structure at Point Piquet which is ideal for moon viewing, and in a better position,” he said.
“We believe we are connected to everything, the earth is the as same as us, we belong to the earth, we don’t own it, it owns us.
“We are the caretakers, you look after the land and it looks after you. We believe the land will get you if you don’t respect it, nature will destroy you if you don’t respect nature.”
Mr Needham said the need for a viewing terrace was identified in the Meelup Park Coastal Nodes Master Plan and the Meelup Park Management Plan – both of which went out for community consultation several years ago.
He said nothing was set in stone for the project, and the community’s response would be taken into account.
“However, the area in question, on the western embankment, is underutilised and degraded space.
“There will be minimal impact on the environment and no trees will be required to be removed. The concept design involves the creation of an unobtrusive stone structure that blends into the natural environment.”
Mr Needham said the city met regularly with Indigenous people and will be having more detailed discussions with them over the concept design.
Zac Webb said it wasn’t good enough and he felt like the Indigenous community was an afterthought.
“There seems to be a systemic problem with not consulting the traditional owners as stakeholders at the beginning of the journey,” he said.
“We want people, and organisations, when they apply for funding, grants, and start planning or designing, to think how much money do we need and what do we need to do, to truly, not ‘tokenistically’, involve the nation’s first people.”
The design concepts are currently out for public consultation and members of the public can provide submissions until March 11.
More information is available on the city’s Your Say Busselton site.
