Plans for a controversial apartment development in the beachside town of Hawks Nest, secretly backed by the family of corrupt NSW politician Eddie Obeid, are set to be challenged in court by traditional owners.
Shai Richardson, the interim chief executive of the Karuah Local Aboriginal Land Council, said her community wanted to regain ownership of the two beachside plots sold for $1.5 million in 2018.
That price did not take into account the likelihood that one of the plots would be rezoned to accommodate a medium density apartment development.
The re-zoning was approved by the local council in April with the next step being a development application, which, if approved, would push the value of the land above $6 million — a massive windfall for the developers.
"I want to get that land back into the hands of its rightful owners and make sure it is used for the right purpose," said Ms Richardson.
"To do this we are exploring all our legal options".
For any legal challenge to be successful it would need to show there was wrongdoing during the process to sell the land between December 2016 and late 2018.
Ms Richardson said many in the Karuah community believed at the time that the land was being sold to the neighbouring Hawks Nest Golf Club rather than developers who were planning to build 140 apartments on the site.
Karuah elder Venessa Saunders said the land sale was approved without the full support of the community.
"The board [at the time] was making decisions on behalf of community, not consulting the community. And that's where the breakdown was," she told Four Corners.
An investigation by Four Corners revealed the Obeid family as secret backers of the Hawks Nest development, along with another equally controversial beachside apartment complex in Port Macquarie.
Last week a planning body rejected a development application for the Port Macquarie apartment complex after an outcry from nearby residents.
The Joint Regional Planning Panel cited the size of the proposed development, its effect on neighbouring properties and the visual impact on the wider area in making its decision.
"We are delighted at the result," said Carole Field, who lives next to the proposed development.
There is also growing public anger around the proposed Hawks Nest development, which has seen more than 24,000 people sign a petition against the project.
Local MP Kate Washington has also tabled a "Notice of Motion" in the NSW parliament calling on Planning Minister Rob Stokes to "urgently review" the development given the "strong opposition" from the community and "in light of the Four Corners program".
The public anger comes ahead of local council elections on December 4.
The 140-apartment development and the Obeid family's involvement has become a major election issue as candidates square off over the proposal.
Mid Coast councillor Len Roberts was chief executive of the Karuah Local Aboriginal Land Council when a 1.4-hectare beachside plot was sold to developers for $600,000 in October 2018.
A second parcel of 10 hectares was sold to the same developers for $900,000.
Len Roberts then authored a cultural heritage report for the developers and twice voted in favour of the proposal as a Mid Coast councillor. He left the room during the final vote to re-zone the land in April this year.
Mr Roberts has strongly denied any conflict of interest around the development and accused his opponents of trying to make "political mileage" out of the issue.
In local media interviews and on Facebook, Mr Roberts said the sale was necessary as the Karuah Land Council was "absolutely broke" when he took over as chief executive in 2016.
"One of the things I was charged to do, was to start selling land to get the land council out of its financial trouble," he told the Great Lakes Advocate and Manning River Times.
This claim of "financial trouble" has been denied by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, which oversees local land councils.
"Our records indicate that Karuah Local Aboriginal Land Council (KLALC) was not in financial difficulty at the time of the transaction, nor was KLALC's financial position a motivating factor in its decision to sell," it said in a statement.
The Karuah Land Council's financial report from June 2017 – the year the land sale was agreed – shows it had a cash surplus of $60,000 and assets of more than $6 million.
Mr Roberts told local media the combined sale price of $1.5 million was double the valuation placed on the two plots of land.
This valuation did not take into account that the beachside parcel of land would most likely be re-zoned.
While a development application is yet to be lodged, the current plan is for the construction of more than 140 apartments, which will see the value of the land climb above $6 million, a massive windfall for the developers.
Mr Roberts told 2GB radio the parcel was always going to be re-zoned once it was transferred from Crown land to the Aboriginal Land Council.
"It has to be re-zoned and it has to be re-zoned to the land zoning adjacent to the land, which [in this case] is medium density," he said.
The sale of the land and the proposed development figured prominently at a public meeting in Hawks Nest last Saturday evening, organised by rival local councillor Peter Epov.
"People are very angry. The public outrage is absolutely overwhelming," he said.
Mr Epov told Four Corners the sale price of $600,000 was like "winning Powerball" for the developers.
He is now urging residents to write to NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes, who is responsible for giving final approval to the re-zoning.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes said in a statement: "As the council has finalised the proposal, neither the Minister nor the Department can intervene."
Legal advice obtained by local residents questions this statement and a separate petition has been lodged with the NSW parliament in an effort to have the matter debated in the lower house. To achieve this, 20,000 signatures must be obtained.
Obeids the secret backers of two developments
One of the companies which purchased the land at Hawks Nest is the Leric Group, whose sole director is Merwin "Memo" Ibrahim. He is also a director of the company that owns the development site at Pacific Drive in Port Macquarie.
Mr Ibrahim is a long-standing family friend of the Obeids and in a statement to Four Corners said he had been a personal friend of Gerard and Eddie Junior since he was 18 years old.
Mr Ibrahim was also a founding shareholder of Laurus Projects, which is developing the project at Pacific Drive.
Eddie Jnr works with Laurus Projects, according to his email address.
"I consult to them … when you consult for someone, they give you an email address," he told Four Corners.
Eddie Obeid's fourth son Gerard, lives next door to the Pacific Drive development and lodged a submission in support of increasing height and density limits in the area.
Mr Ibrahim denied having any business dealings with the Obeid family.
"I have no business with any of the Obeid family. Never ever," he told Four Corners in a statement.
Gerard and Eddie Jr did not respond to written questions about the family's involvement in Pacific Drive or Hawks Nest.
The head of Laurus Projects told Four Corners the Obeid family has no involvement in the Pacific Drive development.
