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Australia: Church of Scientology drug rehab centre rejected

Kookaburra

Gold Meritorious Patron
Word is getting around. Here is another article on the most recent knock back.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/scientologists-da-for-yarramalong-valley-drug-rehab-centre-rejected-20140511-zr9do.html

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The property: The church bought it before the council's decision.
The property: The church bought it before the council's decision. Photo: Supplied
Wyong Shire Council has rejected a Church of Scientology proposal for a controversial drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in the Yarramalong Valley in the central coast hinterland.
A church offshoot, the Association for Better Living and Education, lodged a development application last year but did not bother to await Wyong's decision, outlaying $3.8 million on February 7 to buy the 30-hectare Yarramalong property owned by Albert Bertini, a financially troubled millionaire who left Sydney two years ago.
ABLE planned to use the property to house 20 participants in a controversial substance abuse treatment program, Narconon, that has been associated with deaths in the US and Europe. Several governments have forced the closure of its centres.
Yarramalong has been an upmarket weekender spot for generations of the rich and powerful. John Laws, John Singleton and the late Neville Wran have called it a home away from home.
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Residents became alarmed when word of the proposed drug rehab centre became public.
The council rejected the application after it was found to be incompatible with land zonings and regulations.
Mayor Doug Eaton said in a statement that council staff had considered the proposal in accordance with the Wyong Local Environmental Plan and determined it represented unacceptable risks to both life and property, given the flood-affected nature of the site.
Cr Eaton said that while he recognised the value of providing a range of treatment options for drug and alcohol addictions, this particular development was not in the public interest.
"I'm pleased with the outcome given the strong community opposition to the proposal," he said. "Having seen the matter considered in accordance with our planning regulations, I think it's clear their opposition was well-founded. It simply isn't an appropriate use for this site."
The chairman of the Yarramalong Community Action Group, Ron Lee, said locals were pleased with the outcome but it did not necessarily mean the matter was closed.
In its determination, the council appeared to leave a door open, noting that ABLE had submitted insufficient information with the application, "making it difficult to fully assess the social impact, the likely effect on the drinking water catchment, or satisfy how water and sewerage would be treated".
"We should not be complacent that this is the end of the matter," Mr Lee said.
"Incredibly the Church of Scientology purchased the property before the council was able to make a ruling on their development application and they are therefore not going to go away. It is very difficult to imagine what sort of alternative use the Scientology organisation might be able to make of the property and remain within the very tight planning guidelines."
ABLE spokesman Ralph Harris had not replied to requests for an interview by the time of posting.
It was the second time in two months that ABLE proposals for a rehab centre have been rejected.
In Victoria on March 11, amid massive local opposition fanned by the police reports, Yarra Ranges Shire councillors voted unanimously 8-0 to reject ABLE's planning application to open a rehabilitation centre in the township of Warburton.
 

scooter

Gold Meritorious Patron
A Current Affair ran a short story last night on the cult losing yet again - I've been trying to get a link but Windows 8 won't let me post it.:bigcry:

I found out when I went to work this morning and my boss came and told me he's sick of turning on the TV and being scared by my ugly head popping up on it while he's eating dinner.:biggrin:

Can someone oblige and post the link here :prettyplease:
 

MrNobody

Who needs merits?

Helena Handbasket

Gold Meritorious Patron
They need a remote location where no-one can hear the screams to do the re-educa....er, I mean, "introspection r/d" on anyone trying to escape.
Could someone give us some more nformation on this? I mean, I've come to believe the Intro RD is stupid and useless, but is it really something that would make you scream? Some kind of overt torture?

the ever-curious Helena
 

scooter

Gold Meritorious Patron
[video=youtube;XfR9iY5y94s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s[/video]

Yes it's the bitter defrocked apostate lurking on the fringes of the Internet who should have let all that entheta go long ago and just gotten on with his life:biggrin:

FUCK YOU, OSA:devil:
 

oneonewasaracecar

Gold Meritorious Patron
Could someone give us some more nformation on this? I mean, I've come to believe the Intro RD is stupid and useless, but is it really something that would make you scream? Some kind of overt torture?

the ever-curious Helena

Firstly, they don't give people treatment, they give them auditing. In other words, they go cold Turkey. Expect screaming.

Secondly, they used to have a facility in Mangrove Mountain, pretty near to where they just failed to put another one (FUCK YOU OSA).

You can read about it here:
From: Tony McClelland
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: #2 Police rescue - New South Wales Aust
Date: 23 Jan 1995 21:56:32 GMT
Organization: Microplex Pty Ltd
Lines: 25
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: dialup-211.mpx.com.au

When an Australia CofS member was distressed with approximately 3 months of incarceration he escaped using the following steps:

a) Escaped to the nearest phone booth. b) Phoned his mother. When the captors arrived and removed the phone from him, he screamed to his mother - call the police. c) His mother called the Police and explained the situation but was unable to produce the address where he was detained. d) The NSW Police arrived at the kidnap site and asked the Scientologist If he wanted to be released. e) He was driven to the Gosford Railway Station and released. f) For verification phone the Gosford Police MANN ST, GOSFORD AUSTRALIA. 61 (0)43 235599.

Why does the CofS Australia use these tactics? Does the CofS advise recruits that this could happen to them?

Regards

Tony McClelland
CultAware
Australia
 

Purple Rain

Crusader
Could someone give us some more nformation on this? I mean, I've come to believe the Intro RD is stupid and useless, but is it really something that would make you scream? Some kind of overt torture?

the ever-curious Helena

I guess it depends on the person. If you were locked up against your will, would you scream? I would. I'd scream my lungs out and hope somebody, anybody, heard me and could help me. Lisa McPherson apparently screamed a lot.
 

Helena Handbasket

Gold Meritorious Patron
I guess it depends on the person. If you were locked up against your will, would you scream? I would. I'd scream my lungs out and hope somebody, anybody, heard me and could help me. Lisa McPherson apparently screamed a lot.
Yes, but what does the cult actually DO that results in screaming? I can't see anyone screaming over simply being locked up unless they knew that someone was just on the other side of the wall who could rescue them.

Firstly, they don't give people treatment, they give them auditing. In other words, they go cold Turkey. Expect screaming.
Cold turkey? Doesn't that have to do with drug rehabilitation? Isn't that a different issue than the Intro RD? Or are the two usually done together?

Helena
 

George Layton

Silver Meritorious Patron
Yes, but what does the cult actually DO that results in screaming? I can't see anyone screaming over simply being locked up unless they knew that someone was just on the other side of the wall who could rescue them.

Cold turkey? Doesn't that have to do with drug rehabilitation? Isn't that a different issue than the Intro RD? Or are the two usually done together?

Helena

I bet that little 6 year old, deaf, dumb girl they put in the chain locker would disagree.
 

Purple Rain

Crusader
Yes, but what does the cult actually DO that results in screaming? I can't see anyone screaming over simply being locked up unless they knew that someone was just on the other side of the wall who could rescue them.

Helena

Well, if you wouldn't you wouldn't. I wouldn't just sit there and go, "Okay, well, I'm locked up now." The loss of liberty, the feeling of abject helplessness, would be a terrible psychological torture to me. And it's not just being locked up, like in gaol, where there is a finite time and television and so forth. It's being kidnapped with no accountability or oversight whatsoever. I would assume that it's traumatic in the extreme.
 

Helena Handbasket

Gold Meritorious Patron
Well, if you wouldn't you wouldn't. I wouldn't just sit there and go, "Okay, well, I'm locked up now." The loss of liberty, the feeling of abject helplessness, would be a terrible psychological torture to me. And it's not just being locked up, like in gaol, where there is a finite time and television and so forth. It's being kidnapped with no accountability or oversight whatsoever. I would assume that it's traumatic in the extreme.
Oh, it is, I can assure you that. (Been there, done that in my last lifetime.) But I would still think would one would only scream if (a) they were actively being hurt somehow else in the present moment or (b) had some hope of rescue that screaming would make possible.

Helena
 

oneonewasaracecar

Gold Meritorious Patron
Yes, but what does the cult actually DO that results in screaming? I can't see anyone screaming over simply being locked up unless they knew that someone was just on the other side of the wall who could rescue them.
You mean apart from imprisoning drug addicts against their will and denying them access to real treatment?

Can I ask, do you think that imprisoning people is a acceptable? Do you think that if someone reacts to that, that it is a problem with their reactive mind?
Cold turkey? Doesn't that have to do with drug rehabilitation? Isn't that a different issue than the Intro RD? Or are the two usually done together?

Helena

Drug rehab involves a lot more than withdrawal from the drugs. It involves medication, therapy and follow up support. Often, this involves strategies to take the edge of the withdrawal, such as electroanalgesia, meditation etc.
 

AnonyMary

Formerly Fooled - Finally Free
Followup: Narconon appealed the above... and lost the appeal on Feb 5, 2015!

Kudos to the community of Warburton for their perseverance. They became educated about Narconon and organized in their efforts to prevent this facility from relocating to their town. Those efforts helped in yesterday's decision that resulted in Narconon losing on it's appeal of the town council's rejection.

Narconon have taken Yarra Ranges Council to VCAT and lost

we-won-feb5.jpg



So, thank you to all you who contributed to making this happen. :thumbsup:
 
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