Woolworths v Maleny - a challenge to democracy
The last time I looked we still lived in what is considered a democracy - so I ask you - Does a corporate entity have the right to set up shop, whenever and wherever it pleases, irrespective of public opinion?
In the recent fight between Woolworths and the Maleny community both sides are engaged in a propaganda war. The only winners at present are the newspapers through advertising revenue and the legal fraternity. The Council appear powerless to stop the Juggernaut as they have had all their requests overturned in court. The locals are saying that over 80% of the population oppose the new Woolworths. If that figure is accurate it begs the following question:-
What right does Woolworths have to proceed with the development if the locals don’t want it?
Do we still live in a democracy or does the corporate world now run the show irrespective of public oppinion?
February 8th, 2004 at 2:16 am
Is it true? Woolworths forced from creekside bigbox due to endangered codfish?
April 16th, 2004 at 11:47 pm
I support Maleny people 100percent. Buderin people were too weak to fight bloody Woolworths.
Woolworths won and we now have a horrid mess in our beautiful buderim.
April 20th, 2004 at 4:53 pm
Hi, I live on the Sunshine Coast about 25 minutes from Maleny.
The people of Maleny do not want a Woolworths, and a similar battle was fought against Woolworths putting a store in Buderim.
On Thursday, when the developers were clearing the land, Cornerstone Properties said they had every necessary permit and were acting within the law.
They lied.
They did not have a permit to clear riverine vegetation and that is why work was stopped.
On Thursday, Woolworths spokesman Peter Thomas said Cornerstone were acting without their knowledge, and Woolworths were under no legal obligation to set up shop once built.
He lied.
Woolworths today took out a full page ad part of which said they had entered into an arrangement to lease the building.
This is also shown by the transcript of the court case, in which Woolworths and Cornerstone successfully overturned each condition Council tried to place on them.
Woolworths and Cornerstone Properties. Liars.
April 20th, 2004 at 10:24 pm
I also do not believe any claim by Woolworths that they have not committed to the site. No developer would by stupid enough to build a supermarket without signing the major tenant in advance, otherwise they do not know the specifics of what to build!
I live in Maleny and am completely against the development. We do not want a second supermarket, and regardless of that the choice of site is apalling for the intended use.
And there were calls for prices from subcontractors in the weekend paper, so Cornerstone are pushing ahead.
May 11th, 2004 at 11:27 am
Many dairy farmers in the Maleny area are struggling to make a living, yet Woolworths won’t guarantee it would sell their milk if the supermarket goes ahead (heaven forbid!). It would truck milk vast distances from NSW and Victoria, where it has screwed down dairy farmers to the poverty line. This is just stupid greed by a retail giant intent on forcing itself on a town that clearly DOES NOT WANT IT. Woolworths’ own survey showed that nearly 100% of Maleny people don’t want them on the Obi Obi Creek site and 68% don’t want them ANYWHERE in town. What part of NO don’t they understand?
July 15th, 2004 at 9:59 pm
Ummm, the answer to the first question is YES - a business cn set up anywhere it wants to - It’s called Free Enterprise…. And yes, I live in Maleny too - for 14 years now…
July 24th, 2004 at 9:31 pm
i think woolworths should go ahead. it would give a variety of products and more jobs will be made for the street rats on the town. GO WOLLIES GO
July 28th, 2004 at 4:49 pm
Woolworths has done everything right in there planning and if they go ahead, so be it. Woolworths in Maleny would bring good things such as more food to Maleny and the surrounding shops will probably benifit as well because people come in to buy food and figure that they may as well buy clothes or something while they are there. Sure, the roads will possibly be a problem in the next 10 to 20 years and maybe Maleny will not be as small and quiet but that is all part of a growing community.
August 14th, 2004 at 3:59 pm
im a student who has recently visited maleny, and i am doing a case study on the current issue. i do believe that woolworths is wrong to force the development upon a community that clearly does not want it, but i also believe that the maleny townsfolk could handle the situation a lot better. stop the passionate protesting and try the civil compromising approach. you might actually get the developers to listen to you.
September 28th, 2004 at 2:14 pm
I was at a protest on the weekend against the Wooliesin Maleny and it was amazing to see such a cross section of the community, elderly ladies, school kids, parents, farmers etc etc Its not just a small group of hippies that Woolies can try to ignore! It was scary to see that the development is planned over the top of several platypus burrows and that the carpark is planned on unstable creekbank that changes with the different water levels. It was clear to all there that it would be the end of platypus living in the heart of Maleny, such a shame it would be to lose them.
As for the people tring other avenues, they have and it just didnt work
September 29th, 2004 at 1:00 pm
Hey peoples!
I’m suposed to be doing a school project on Maleny vs Woolworths but I need the statistics and percentages of ‘for or against’. But I can’t find it anywhere. PLEASE HELP!
September 29th, 2004 at 9:49 pm
I am a student currently doing an assignment on Woolworths and Maleny. I belive that Woolworths should go ahead because it will provide the residents with a larger varitey of items and it will benefit the economy in a few ways. Plus, they’ve already cleared the site! What are they going to do with it if it doesnt go ahead? Build another rainforest!Give Woolies a chance!
September 29th, 2004 at 9:56 pm
I believe that Wooloies should definatley go ahead with the development. Support me and you’ll be cool forever!
June 15th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
While I can see why another supermarket is needed in the area with predicted population explosions; i don’t understand why a company would want to build on a block of land that is so environmentally unstable. And i welcome a company that can provide more jobs; but why invest so much money in something a vast majority of the community opposes? Also, growing up and driving in Maleny, I am well aware of the problems that strip of road causes. When school was finished, it used to take me 20 minutes to go from the high school to the police station. How is woolies dealing with this?
And does anyone remember what happened to the last big company that came into Maleny? Whatever happened to Red Rooster?
July 15th, 2005 at 2:34 pm
Having visited Maleny a year ago I fully support the locals in their plight to ban Woolworths. It will change everything that Maleny and its community stand for. A beautiful country town.
We had a creek nearby, in an outer suburb of Melbourne, that harboured platypus before developers moved in and desicrated the area. Where are the platypus now? They (the developers) even had the audacity to have platypus on their advertising sign for the area!
DO NOT SHOP AT ANY WOOLWORTHS STORES! TAKE YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE.
KEEP UP THE FIGHT and keep it in the media.
September 30th, 2005 at 5:30 pm
I am for the building of Woolies as it is already going ahead. It will help Maleny economically aswell. I am from India and have only recently moved to Maleny. I not see what problem is. If we had this is India eberyone would be bery happy.
Give them a go and stop being mean.
April 8th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
According to proper research 17 jobs are lost for every 10 gained when a supermarket comes to a town and closes down the other businesses.
Neither Woolworth’s nor the developer had to do any roadworks. Now the ratepayers will have to pay to fix up the road as it is really unsafe.
And now Woolworth’s are going into the local supermarket to find out the prices and undercutting them to send them broke. You’d better believe this because that is how they operate.
I will never shop there
May 26th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
I used to live in Maleny, and know what the site looks like. I can’t believe that a Woolies would be built in Maleny especially next to the creek. Its the stupidest place to put a large store. The IGA and the co-op is all that Maleny needs.
May 30th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
OK, I’m reading a lot of, ‘give woolies a chance’ and, ‘don’t be mean to woolies!’ They are a multinational,multi-billion dollar corporation. They don’t need our sympathy!! Trust me, they have PLENTY of money and don’t need any more from Maleny. As for brining ‘more food’ into Maleny. DUH!!! There is a supermarket in Maleny already, and if you walk into it I believe you will find plenty of food for everyone. Stop beeing so bloody selfish and Think about the real issues here. The downfalls far outweigh the few possible upsides. Firstly, the environmental impact. I am shocked to see so many fellow young people having no regard whatsoever for an endangered species! Not to mention the fact that Maleny does not have the infrastructure to deal with any more traffic or sudden rise in population. If the residents don’t want a Woolworths then it is ridiculous to build one. I live in Palmwoods and they’re trying to build one here. We already have a perfectly good IGA and no need (or room!) for a Woolworths. As for the statement, ‘build another rainforest’, that is the most awful thing I’ve heard all day!! A ludicrous statement on MANY levels. Don’t even get me started.
April 9th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Hi! I am doing a uni assignment on corporate community relations and the Woolworths Maleny issue and I just want to say that although legally Woolies may have done everything right, what about morally?
If there is so much public objection to the project then how can Woolies justify going ahead with it? Do the high paid executives sit up in their offices and think ‘well….they’ll come round, give them time’??!
I think regardless of the environment and the platypus, it is a crazy business venture by the company!
I also find it very strange that if Woolies have done nothing wrong (legally or morally) then why is it that I cannot, anywhere, find anything from the Woolworths company on this issue? there are 100’s of websites about the issue, but nothing on any of them from Woolworths. No press release, no statement, no interviews, nothing.
If they don’t want to be seen as the bad guy then get out and let the public understand your side! If there is no environmental issue then explain that, if you can prove your research that suggests people will shop there, and local businesses won’t be effected then show us! Silence just suggests guilt.
May 15th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Hi
I actually live in maleny and have now for a while
yes the site before was good BUT i must say wollies
going there has made a big impact on the maleny community
in a good way and bad a good way casue think of all the people
who have been given a job and the people who will have a more varitey i love wollies, people who protest have nothing better to do with there lifes and need o get need to get one WOOLIES IS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO THE TOWN FOR SOME OF US
…………………………DEAL WITH IT
January 31st, 2009 at 5:41 pm
If you really Woolworths is the best thing to happen to Maleny you have been living there with your eyes shut, ears plugged and brain out of gear. Go and live somewhere else! Educate yourself first though. Here’s a link to start: http://www.accord.org.au/social/profiles/maleny.html
Maybe then you will understand why most intelligent people refuse to shop at Woolworths.
August 13th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Ok firstly james is a d*ck head because he has no idea about woolworths and Maleny so people dont listen to him…….
Like ??????? Says: it has given many people jobs hear and has stoped IGA from over priceing there food which is true and about 80% of the people that were protesting now shop at Woolworths, the only people that dont support it are the lazy hippies who ruin this town and dont have any jobs and nothing better to do with there time GET A LIFE!!!!!!!
December 7th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Woolworths, an Australian company (not multinational) has become the biggest and the best simply because they gave the people what they want. There seems to be a national campaign against Woolworths, as one notes the well-financed protests by the same activists in both Mullumbimby and Newport (and previously Maleny) in a fight against Woolworths … is the finance coming from IGA ALDI or Coles? If the noisy protesters have no wish to shop at Woolworths, then that is their prerogative .. but they sure have no right to deny this opportunity to others.
March 21st, 2010 at 10:35 am
Yes Richard, there is a national campaign against Woolworths. I am proud to be involved. So far, it consists of no more than an exchange of views, experiences and noting what worked, or is working or did not work in Buderim. Maleny, Mount Evelyn, West Geelong, Kempsey, Samford, Newport Beach, Cabarita, Eurobadalla, Griffith, Armidale, Wallaroo, Seville, Mittagong, Dural, Lane Cove, Canungra, Moree, Palmer’s Island, Lane Cove, Thornleigh, Neutral By, Shepparton, Doncaster East, Swindon and Caine and other towns and suburbs where residents have been brave enough to say “NO” to greedy retail giants. Every cent of funding for stickers, T-shirts, badges, and newspaper advertisements comes from concerned residents’ pockets. Our numbers are growing and will continue to grow as long as the retail duopoly’s tentacles tighten their grip on small business and suppliers all over Australia. Can all these people be wrong?
March 28th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Who gives a shit about Maleny? For all I care Woolworths could be selling poison to their customers. There’s not enough space in this world for redneck lunatic protestors like the ones in Maleny. Honestly, what difference is one Woolworths store going to make? Jesus Christ.