By Victoria Stone-Meadows
Casey Mayor Sam Aziz has slammed the media coverage of the story of council aiming to compulsorily acquire land in Narre Warren North in a Facebook post as “media manipulation.”
The story of John Foy’s property being in the crosshairs of council for sport and recreational development has been ongoing for some time.
Cr Aziz made a public submission via his Facebook page the day before council aimed to resolve the issue at a council meeting.
The post from Cr Aziz post comes following a Change.org petition to save Mr Foy’s land, which has attracted over 3800 signatures in less than 20 hours.
The creator of the petition, a man from Greensborough who wishes to remain anonymous, said he thought Casey Council was committing an injustice.
“He (Mr Foy) hasn’t done anything wrong,” the petition’s creator said.
“Council are not building any infrastructure like a highway or a road and they already have ground set aside; it’s unnecessary to take away the man’s land.”
“It’s not like it’s poorly maintained and animals are starving, he has cultivated it to an exceptional standard.”
The petition’s creator said he didn’t start it to hitch on to the story but wants Mr Foy to know there are people out there that supported his cause.
“It feels like bullying to be honest, they have got acres and acres of land put aside already and he’s not destroying the environment.
“I didn’t do it for recognition; it’s not about that, the bloke has done nothing wrong.”
Referring to the petition in the public social media update, Cr Aziz said he “would like to outline the facts against the usual that has occurred here.”
In the post, Cr Aziz said the acquisition had been part of an ongoing discussion between Mr Foy and council.
“The negotiations between council and Mr Foy have been going on for a long time, and Mr Foy has been a willing part of those negotiations,” Mr Aziz said in his post.
“It is a fact that every time our officers spoke to him he kept putting up his price.”
“If acquisition proceeds, I am confident that a fair arrangement can be achieved that compensates Mr Foy adequately while delivering a fair outcome for the ratepayers of Casey.”
However, as reported by the Berwick news earlier this year, Mr Foy said he was unaware of the extent of land the council was planning to acquire.
According to Mr Foy, he had thought council only wanted to purchase a section of land along Eumemmerring Creek for the Lysterfield Lake-Frog Hollow Reserve missing link.
Mr Foy said he was unaware of council’s plan to acquire his entire property until just a few days before Planning Panels Victoria handed down their report on the council’s proposed deal.
“They just want to come in and railroad me off the land with no questions asked,” he said.
Cr Aziz said the accusations levelled at the City of Casey Council were unfair and council had worked hard to ensure Mr Foy received a fair compensation for his land.
“It is a shame, given the motivation to fulfil a massive community need, and the regulatory, transparent and highly empathetic process we followed, that some are spreading conspiracy theories and using Casey Council as a punching bag,” he said in his Facebook post.
“None of this will stop us from doing the right thing by Mr Foy, and all our residents.”
Council will vote on recommendations from their planning department regarding the acquisition of Mr Foy’s land at a council meeting on Tuesday 7 February.
