“Tall poppy syndrome strikes again.” Central Coast Express Advocate, 17 July 1996.
This letter records a strongly pro-development response to the passage of the Warnervale Airport (Restrictions) Bill 1996. R J Bowen argues that restricting the airport would damage the Central Coast’s economic prospects and portrays an expanded airport as important infrastructure for business travel, interstate air services and regional investment.
The letter is particularly revealing of the increasingly polarised public debate surrounding Warnervale Airport during 1996. Bowen characterises opponents as a “vocal minority” and pressure groups acting in their own interests, while describing criticism of business and government figures as an example of Australia’s “tall poppy” mentality.
It also places the controversy within the sequence of the developer winning the airport tender, successfully defending the development through the Land and Environment Court proceedings, and then facing restrictions imposed through Paul Crittenden’s Private Member’s Bill. As a contemporary letter to the editor, it provides direct evidence of the frustration felt by some Central Coast residents who regarded airport expansion as an important component of the region’s economic development.
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