Well know Coogee local and former public school principal Sue Doran won pre-selection last night as the Greens candidate for the NSW state seat of Coogee. Sue Doran is a seasoned campaigner on local issues and most recently has been actively involved, in the Coogee Precinct’s campaign against the Coogee Bay Hotel’s Part 3A application for high-rise residential and retail development.

Ms Doran says that the Greens were the only party in the NSW Parliament to oppose the addition of Part 3A to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 when it went before Parliament.

“Local residents have been collecting petition signatures against the Coogee Bay Hotel high rise down at Coogee Beach for months. We have seen the shock expressed by thousands of visitors and local residents when they learn that Part 3A of the Environment Planning and Assessment Act allows the developers to bypass Randwick Council’s height restrictions on the hotel site. The Liberal and Labor parties should never have pushed it through state parliament,” said Sue Doran.

Sue Doran’s background as a teacher and principal in state schools means that public education is a particular passion for the Greens candidate and she wants to see a ‘better deal for public education in the eastern suburbs’.

“As we’ve all noticed there’s a baby boom happening. Our schools are rapidly filling up; some being squeezed for space. Long term planning is urgently needed. Further, our teachers have suffered under the current government. As parents know, education is precious and should be treated with great care,” Sue Doran argues.

Local East Ward Greens Councillor Murray Matson has enthusiastically endorsed Ms Doran arguing that Coogee had been sold out by the main political parties, questioning the influence of political donations by hotel groups in the area.

“Lets vote Sue Doran into Coogee as a local candidate who owes the Coogee Bay Hotel no favours!” said Murray Matson.

The seat of Coogee is expected to be a tough race for the current Member for Coogee, Labor’s Paul Pearce, who personally has not taken donations from developers or hotels. However community anger over the Coogee Bay Hotel development proposals is expected to be a key issue in the electorate and despite Paul Pearce’s very public opposition to the proposal, Labor is expected to lose voters over the Part 3A legislation which locals feel removes them from the decision making process and which the Liberals have promised to repeal. Current Randwick Councillor Bruce Notley-Smith is the Liberals candidate for the seat of Coogee.

What do you think are the big issues in the Coogee electorate?