Mr Cooke's claim that "the region will take another backward step to ensuring the Shoalhaven is a great place to live and raise a family with the security of jobs and thriving communities" if the Manyana Beach Estate subdivision does not proceed is completely misguided and not based on available evidence.

As Mr Cooke correctly states, the development was given NSW Government planning consent in 2008. Our argument has always been that much has changed in those 12 years, not least of which is the devastation wreaked upon us and the natural environment by the extensive bushfires this summer.

The Manyana community over many years, has pushed back hard against over and inappropriate development in the area. And for good reason. The ABS reveal that 63.5 per cent of the houses in the area are holiday homes - i.e. owned by those wealthy enough to have a second house. This remote village is not somewhere people settle for convenience to their place of employment nor raise a family with schools, social activities and sporting facilities close by. And the fact is, there are plenty of options already available in town for housing, from vacant blocks through bargain buy pre-established homes right up to high-end beachfront abodes. There are still vacant blocks available in the Coast Estate, which was completed three years ago. There is no evidence of demand.

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True also that Ozy Homes at the same time (2017-18) also purchased a second plot of land nearby in Manyana with another zombie DA in place for a shopping complex. An uninspiring structure including 14 shops and professional suites upstairs with windows facing west, plus 106 car parking spaces. But if the current two cafes in the area struggle to survive in the off-season, who does Mr Cooke think is going to commit to a lease on one of these new shops? Unfortunately, it would likely be some hopeful young family who may well end up losing everything. The truth is these shops would more likely sit idle, open to vandalism and reflect poorly on the village.

We are not trying to prevent new economic activity. We are saying let's direct that development into the appropriate location; close to established high level infrastructure near Nowra and Ulladulla (the favoured option of Shoalhaven City Council's Growth Management Strategy) and at the same time protect special areas (coastal, like ours or otherwise) for those who come to immerse themselves in a natural environment and recharge their batteries. One doesn't have to be at the expense of the other.

Progress for progress sake and creating jobs at the expense of our natural environment is extremely shortsighted. The Earth is a finite resource and we rely on its health for our own well-being. So how about instead we choose to direct our energies towards new industries created around repair and regeneration of our natural environments? This would be sustainable development and would generate much employment if we could only see clearly enough to place the correct value on the environment and see its huge economic potential.

One only need look at the environmental damage wrought over the past couple of hundred years compared to the balance maintained by its Indigenous custodians for 40-60,000 years prior, to know that we haven't been getting it right!

But let's return to the main reason so many are up in arms right now about the threat of losing this patch of unburnt, mature native Australian bushland. It is one of the last refuges for any wildlife that managed to escape the inferno and experts also tell us it is essential as a source to repopulate the fauna and flora of the surrounding burnt bushland. We've been to hell and back this year and we simply will not stand idle and witness more destruction. Until we can confidently quantify just what is at stake here, no further clearing should occur anywhere in the fire-grounds but those assessments have barely even begun.

To insinuate that a 5 per cent Shoalhaven City Council rate increase would be spent on saving this crucial habitat for wildlife is skullduggery. Our investigations show the developer paid $3.85 million for the land a couple of years ago and despite saturation advertising Ozy Homes have been unable to sell more than a handful of lots. So, it effectively remains only what was purchased - a 20ha bush block with an outdated DA which appears unviable - compounded in the context of the current recession. Even the Hon Rob Stokes, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces said "Certainly when I saw the subdivision plan, it looks like something that would be from Porpoise Spit in the 1960s. It is a shocking subdivision plan".

Mr Cooke states that "people on the New South Wales South Coast care about our land, beaches and environment and so they should, it's what makes our region the beautiful place [it is]." It's safe to say we would be letting our young people down if we don't protect that precious natural resource.

Jorj Lowrey is founder and vice president of the Manyana Matters Environmental Association.