This petition of certain members of the Western Australian public draws to your attention the refusal of the current Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Sheila McHale MLA to honour a written commitment given by her predecessor, the Hon. Mark McGowan MLA, to make the recently announced concept plans for a hotel development at Mt Herschel on Rottnest Island available for a public comment period.

Although the current Ministers website does have a mechanism for readers of her media release to comment, this falls far short of the anticipated properly constituted public comment process. Mr. McGowans media release of 5th November 2005 titled 'Two New accommodation developments to attract more international visitors to Rotto', and subsequent meetings throughout 2006 with Mr. Paolo Amaranti, CEO of the Rottnest Island Authority, led members of the Rottnest Society to believe that there would be a public comment period for the proposed development at Mt Herschel.

Under the Rottnest Island Authority Act 1987 the Rottnest Island Authority is required to 'control and manage the Island in accordance with the management plan for the time being applicable to the Island'. The current Rottnest Island Management Plan (RIMP) 2003-2008 was available for public comment as required by Part IV 22 of the Act before it was formally gazetted.

The current RIMP does NOT include provision for a hotel at Mt Herschel. Moreover, RIMP recommendation 6.5.3.3 states that the RIA must 'Except where specified, limit construction of accommodation on Rottnest to the replacement of existing accommodation, as necessary' and of course the Act requires a focus on accommodation for local families {Part III, 12(1)(a)}.
The Rottnest Island Taskforce, established in 2003, made a series of recommendations for managing Rottnest which were largely accepted by the government but which have never been subjected to a public comment process. The Taskforce Report is not a gazetted statutory document and does not therefore supersede the RIMP.

The Western Australian public has, in 1984 and again in 2003 when major accommodation expansions were proposed, demonstrated a profound interest in any development at Rottnest and, in our opinion deserve, as a matter of good faith, to have the opportunity to have their say on a proposal of this magnitude.

Your petitioners therefore respectfully request that you urgently ask the Minister, the Hon. Sheila McHale to make the concept plans for the proposed Mt Herschel development available for a properly constituted public comment process.