Posted 25/2/17

Letter to the Editor, Midland Express

So many questions

Matthew Nickson, Hanging Rock Action Group

21 Feb 2017, midnight

As reported by the Midland Express a 'Secret Sheeran gig' was held on Hanging Rock itself on Sunday, February 5.

It appears that this event was so secret that none of the Macedon Ranges Shire councillors were asked to approve it! As well, the newly formed Hanging Rock Strategic Advisory Committee, which was appointed as a result of the recent State Government Review into the Management of Hanging Rock, was also not informed.

Yet we have the promoter Michael Gudinski being reported as saying to Radio Today that "I've always had this idea to do something unique, original and surprising. I mean, we had the show at the Opera House - and that's an iconic location in itself, but Hanging Rock is something very different. We've had people play at the bottom of the Rock; Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Barnes and Leonard Cohen, but this was the first time we had someone play ON the rock".

It certainly was "unique, original and surprising".

"Unique" because no such event had ever occurred before on Hanging Rock!

"Original" because no-one would ever have imagined the council allowing such an event!

"Surprising" that the council would allow such an event in only one of the two Core Conservation Zones as recently identified in their new Hanging Rock Reserve Environmental Management Plan.

There are so many questions that need to be answered regarding this such as; who authorised this, who made the decision not to ask councillors to approve it, who decided to bypass the Hanging Rock Strategic Advisory Committee and who authorised ignoring their own Environmental Management Plan that it is hard to start, but underlying all of this is one fundamental question that needs to addressed: Who is running the Macedon Ranges Shire Council, the council officers or the newly elected councillors?