A Liberal councillor's unsuccessful motion to support an east coast submarine base in Newcastle has descended into an internal fight, with accusations of an "ambush" by the two Liberal councillors who didn't support it.
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Councillor Callum Pull put up the motion at Tuesday's Newcastle council meeting asking the council to back a future navy base and for the CEO to write to state and federal governments conveying council's "strong support for the submarine base to be built in Newcastle".
But it was only backed by Independent John Church as the two other Liberal councillors voted against it. Councillor Katrina Wark said she supported the idea but didn't believe council should weigh into federal issues, and councillor Jenny Barrie said there were more important federal issues that needed attention, such as housing.
Cr Pull said Cr Barrie's comment made him "wonder if she's in the right party". He was surprised the pair didn't back his motion, claiming a fortnight ago both attended a meeting and said they supported it.
"In fact, Cr Barrie assured me on Monday that she would support the motion," he said. "It's pretty damning when you can't even rely on your own colleagues to stand up and support you at critical moments like this."
Cr Wark strongly denied this and said she never supported the motion. She told the Herald last week she was going to vote against it.
"I actually phoned Callum and asked him to withdraw it," she said.
Cr Barrie said it was a "very difficult decision" to vote against it that she only made at the last minute.
Parliamentary secretary for the Hunter Taylor Martin also spoke out against the motion in state parliament, saying Newcastle council needed to "stay out of the way and don't bugger it up".
"Stick to your knitting: roads, rates and rubbish," he said. "Do not insert yourself in a very important area of policy for the future of Australia, where it is not needed local government to be."
In the council chamber, the motion was also heavily condemned by Green and Labor councillors.
Greens councillor John Mackenzie didn't mince words saying the plan had no detail and the technology had "unmitigable risks and hazards", with the site being near an ammonium nitrate stockpile, fuel storage, a proposed gas hub and hydrogen facility, an air force base and in an earthquake zone.
Cr Pull said the proposal was about jobs, had the backing of federal Labor and Liberal and initial construction was due for completion by the end of 2023.
"It is absolutely vital that we take this stance now," he said. "We should be absolutely embracing the fact that there is going to be a high employing east coast submarine base somewhere and the opportunity is here before the council to say that we want it."
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