Labor branches want Coffs Harbour foreshore development canned, but is anyone listening?

Grassroots Labor members have clashed with their Macquarie Street leaders over the redevelopment of Coffs Harbour’s jetty foreshores.

Government plans for the waterfront precinct include up to 450 dwellings - a mix of residential and short-stay units - in six-storey blocks, plus a mix of tourism, commercial and recreation facilities.

What they voted on: Branch members supported “in principle” a motion brought forward at the NSW State Labor Conference last weekend by Coffs Harbour delegate and local councillor Tony Judge.

It called on the NSW Government to “cease plans to sell the Jetty Foreshores land for private development and engage with the community to keep the land as public recreational space”.

The motion also noted a 2023 state election commitment to “work with Council to keep land at the Jetty Foreshores in public hands” and a 2024 poll held by the NSW Electoral Commission, in which more than 68 percent of voters said no to “multi-level private residential development” at the foreshore.

Does Premier Chris Minns care?: Judge said while the vote does not force any action from the government, it “gives the minister a very clear view of the opinion of the Labor Party in NSW”.

• “Conference is the decision-making body of NSW Labor; the decision-making body doesn't want the jetty foreshores project to go ahead,” Judge told the Mid North Coaster.

Project update: A rezoning proposal for the precinct is currently under assessment by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI), following its public exhibition in May-June 2025. 

• “Feedback received during the exhibition period and the proponent's response to submissions will inform the finalised rezoning plan, which is expected in the coming months,” a DPHI spokesperson said.