“‘Third Reich’ tactics upset airport friends.” Central Coast Express Advocate, 1 August 1996.
This article illustrates how confrontational the Warnervale Airport debate had become by mid-1996. Rather than concentrating solely on the merits of the proposed airport development, the report focuses on the conduct of participants at the public meeting and the increasingly hostile language being used by those involved.
Peter Hale, who chaired the Friends of Warnervale Airport meeting, strongly criticised anti-airport protesters for heckling and interrupting speakers. His comparison of their behaviour with the “Third Reich” is particularly striking and demonstrates the extent to which the dispute had moved beyond planning and aviation questions into an emotionally charged community conflict.
The article also records Hale’s broader concern that the political dispute involving Paul Crittenden and Wyong Council could damage perceptions of the Central Coast among potential developers. It therefore provides evidence of the way supporters of the airport linked the proposal not only with aviation infrastructure but with wider regional investment and economic development.
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