11-08-2025
'Bait and switch': deputy lord mayor decries Rising Tide venue change
A decision to approve Rising Tide's amended event application without another round of public exhibition could breach the Local Government Act, the deputy lord mayor claims.
The Newcastle Herald reported last week that Rising Tide submitted a request to Newcastle council to amend its event application and move the November blockade protest campsite from Richardson Park to Foreshore Park.
The climate concert would be held at Camp Shortland as previously planned.
An extraordinary council meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 12, regarding the event application.
Newcastle deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said if the council chooses to approve the event application on Tuesday, the decision will not be compliant with requirements of the Local Government Act.
He said, however, the council could vote to reject the application without another exhibition.
The Act says if a council proposes to grant a lease or licence, the proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly, including on the council's website and on the land to which the proposal relates.
The proposal has been notified for Camp Shortland and Richardson Park, but not for the proposed new site of Foreshore Park.
Rising Tide spokesperson Alexa Stuart said the decision to move the campsite was based on "careful consideration" of safety concerns raised by police, council submissions, discussions with councillors and council staff and feedback from Newcastle East residents.
The Newcastle East Residents Group has signalled its support for the campsite to be held in Foreshore Park.
Deputy lord mayor Callum Pull said Rising Tide had "taken us on a ride for the last two months".
"It is very, very poor of Rising Tide to bait and switch locations at the eleventh hour," Cr Pull said.
"Staff have already gone through a long and arduous process, taking submissions and compiling a very comprehensive report.
"This will put councillors in a state of uncertainty."
Ms Stuart said it would be "unnecessary" for the application to go back through the public consultation process.
"The purpose of this process is to find out if the community supports an application and whether any amendments are required," she said.
"The outcome of this process is that there is overwhelming support for the application, but a community preference for one site and not another."
"An event of this scale takes many months to plan and organise, so we hope that after Tuesday night we will be able to lock in our high-profile line-up of musicians and book the infrastructure required for an event of this scale."
Ms Stuart said Cr Pull was "out of touch" with the Newcastle community.
The council report showed 86 per cent of more than 1850 submissions were in favour of Rising Tide's bid to use Hamilton North's Richardson Park and Camp Shortland.
"Independent polling by YouGov showed that 66 per cent of Novocastrians think that council should approve this application," she said
"We hope that councillors will listen to their constituents and vote to support our application on Tuesday night."
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors states that the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
Lord mayor Ross Kerridge caused a stir by using his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, being elected two months before the event.
He said his decision was about maintaining civil order as the event had been promoted nationally following a number of meetings with Rising Tide which began in February 2024.
The internal email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
It said the dollar cost of the public notification was "relatively minor", but there was a "significant cost" of 110 staff hours spent developing the report, particularly given the 458 paper-based submissions.
A decision to approve Rising Tide's amended event application without another round of public exhibition could breach the Local Government Act, the deputy lord mayor claims.
The Newcastle Herald reported last week that Rising Tide submitted a request to Newcastle council to amend its event application and move the November blockade protest campsite from Richardson Park to Foreshore Park.
The climate concert would be held at Camp Shortland as previously planned.
An extraordinary council meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 12, regarding the event application.
Newcastle deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said if the council chooses to approve the event application on Tuesday, the decision will not be compliant with requirements of the Local Government Act.
He said, however, the council could vote to reject the application without another exhibition.
The Act says if a council proposes to grant a lease or licence, the proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly, including on the council's website and on the land to which the proposal relates.
The proposal has been notified for Camp Shortland and Richardson Park, but not for the proposed new site of Foreshore Park.
Rising Tide spokesperson Alexa Stuart said the decision to move the campsite was based on "careful consideration" of safety concerns raised by police, council submissions, discussions with councillors and council staff and feedback from Newcastle East residents.
The Newcastle East Residents Group has signalled its support for the campsite to be held in Foreshore Park.
Deputy lord mayor Callum Pull said Rising Tide had "taken us on a ride for the last two months".
"It is very, very poor of Rising Tide to bait and switch locations at the eleventh hour," Cr Pull said.
"Staff have already gone through a long and arduous process, taking submissions and compiling a very comprehensive report.
"This will put councillors in a state of uncertainty."
Ms Stuart said it would be "unnecessary" for the application to go back through the public consultation process.
"The purpose of this process is to find out if the community supports an application and whether any amendments are required," she said.
"The outcome of this process is that there is overwhelming support for the application, but a community preference for one site and not another."
"An event of this scale takes many months to plan and organise, so we hope that after Tuesday night we will be able to lock in our high-profile line-up of musicians and book the infrastructure required for an event of this scale."
Ms Stuart said Cr Pull was "out of touch" with the Newcastle community.
The council report showed 86 per cent of more than 1850 submissions were in favour of Rising Tide's bid to use Hamilton North's Richardson Park and Camp Shortland.
"Independent polling by YouGov showed that 66 per cent of Novocastrians think that council should approve this application," she said
"We hope that councillors will listen to their constituents and vote to support our application on Tuesday night."
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors states that the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
Lord mayor Ross Kerridge caused a stir by using his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, being elected two months before the event.
He said his decision was about maintaining civil order as the event had been promoted nationally following a number of meetings with Rising Tide which began in February 2024.
The internal email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
It said the dollar cost of the public notification was "relatively minor", but there was a "significant cost" of 110 staff hours spent developing the report, particularly given the 458 paper-based submissions.
A decision to approve Rising Tide's amended event application without another round of public exhibition could breach the Local Government Act, the deputy lord mayor claims.
The Newcastle Herald reported last week that Rising Tide submitted a request to Newcastle council to amend its event application and move the November blockade protest campsite from Richardson Park to Foreshore Park.
The climate concert would be held at Camp Shortland as previously planned.
An extraordinary council meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 12, regarding the event application.
Newcastle deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said if the council chooses to approve the event application on Tuesday, the decision will not be compliant with requirements of the Local Government Act.
He said, however, the council could vote to reject the application without another exhibition.
The Act says if a council proposes to grant a lease or licence, the proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly, including on the council's website and on the land to which the proposal relates.
The proposal has been notified for Camp Shortland and Richardson Park, but not for the proposed new site of Foreshore Park.
Rising Tide spokesperson Alexa Stuart said the decision to move the campsite was based on "careful consideration" of safety concerns raised by police, council submissions, discussions with councillors and council staff and feedback from Newcastle East residents.
The Newcastle East Residents Group has signalled its support for the campsite to be held in Foreshore Park.
Deputy lord mayor Callum Pull said Rising Tide had "taken us on a ride for the last two months".
"It is very, very poor of Rising Tide to bait and switch locations at the eleventh hour," Cr Pull said.
"Staff have already gone through a long and arduous process, taking submissions and compiling a very comprehensive report.
"This will put councillors in a state of uncertainty."
Ms Stuart said it would be "unnecessary" for the application to go back through the public consultation process.
"The purpose of this process is to find out if the community supports an application and whether any amendments are required," she said.
"The outcome of this process is that there is overwhelming support for the application, but a community preference for one site and not another."
"An event of this scale takes many months to plan and organise, so we hope that after Tuesday night we will be able to lock in our high-profile line-up of musicians and book the infrastructure required for an event of this scale."
Ms Stuart said Cr Pull was "out of touch" with the Newcastle community.
The council report showed 86 per cent of more than 1850 submissions were in favour of Rising Tide's bid to use Hamilton North's Richardson Park and Camp Shortland.
"Independent polling by YouGov showed that 66 per cent of Novocastrians think that council should approve this application," she said
"We hope that councillors will listen to their constituents and vote to support our application on Tuesday night."
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors states that the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
Lord mayor Ross Kerridge caused a stir by using his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, being elected two months before the event.
He said his decision was about maintaining civil order as the event had been promoted nationally following a number of meetings with Rising Tide which began in February 2024.
The internal email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
It said the dollar cost of the public notification was "relatively minor", but there was a "significant cost" of 110 staff hours spent developing the report, particularly given the 458 paper-based submissions.
A decision to approve Rising Tide's amended event application without another round of public exhibition could breach the Local Government Act, the deputy lord mayor claims.
The Newcastle Herald reported last week that Rising Tide submitted a request to Newcastle council to amend its event application and move the November blockade protest campsite from Richardson Park to Foreshore Park.
The climate concert would be held at Camp Shortland as previously planned.
An extraordinary council meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 12, regarding the event application.
Newcastle deputy lord mayor Callum Pull, a vocal critic of the blockade, said if the council chooses to approve the event application on Tuesday, the decision will not be compliant with requirements of the Local Government Act.
He said, however, the council could vote to reject the application without another exhibition.
The Act says if a council proposes to grant a lease or licence, the proposal must be notified and exhibited publicly, including on the council's website and on the land to which the proposal relates.
The proposal has been notified for Camp Shortland and Richardson Park, but not for the proposed new site of Foreshore Park.
Rising Tide spokesperson Alexa Stuart said the decision to move the campsite was based on "careful consideration" of safety concerns raised by police, council submissions, discussions with councillors and council staff and feedback from Newcastle East residents.
The Newcastle East Residents Group has signalled its support for the campsite to be held in Foreshore Park.
Deputy lord mayor Callum Pull said Rising Tide had "taken us on a ride for the last two months".
"It is very, very poor of Rising Tide to bait and switch locations at the eleventh hour," Cr Pull said.
"Staff have already gone through a long and arduous process, taking submissions and compiling a very comprehensive report.
"This will put councillors in a state of uncertainty."
Ms Stuart said it would be "unnecessary" for the application to go back through the public consultation process.
"The purpose of this process is to find out if the community supports an application and whether any amendments are required," she said.
"The outcome of this process is that there is overwhelming support for the application, but a community preference for one site and not another."
"An event of this scale takes many months to plan and organise, so we hope that after Tuesday night we will be able to lock in our high-profile line-up of musicians and book the infrastructure required for an event of this scale."
Ms Stuart said Cr Pull was "out of touch" with the Newcastle community.
The council report showed 86 per cent of more than 1850 submissions were in favour of Rising Tide's bid to use Hamilton North's Richardson Park and Camp Shortland.
"Independent polling by YouGov showed that 66 per cent of Novocastrians think that council should approve this application," she said
"We hope that councillors will listen to their constituents and vote to support our application on Tuesday night."
An internal City of Newcastle email to councillors states that the council did not approve the event licence in line with legislation in 2024.
Lord mayor Ross Kerridge caused a stir by using his delegated powers to approve the 2024 event application.
Cr Kerridge defended his decision at the time, saying he came into the situation late in the piece, being elected two months before the event.
He said his decision was about maintaining civil order as the event had been promoted nationally following a number of meetings with Rising Tide which began in February 2024.
The internal email to councillors said failure to follow the legislation would not automatically invalidate any resolution of the council.
It said the dollar cost of the public notification was "relatively minor", but there was a "significant cost" of 110 staff hours spent developing the report, particularly given the 458 paper-based submissions.
