BACKLASH from the community against the proposed Buddhist temple at Comberton Grange has shocked even the most sceptical in the Shoalhaven.
With a 500-bed prison also on the agenda for the Shoalhaven, it is the Shaolin Buddhists which have raised the ire of some of the more vocal elements of the community.
With Shoalhaven City Council and representatives of the Shaolin Buddhist order close to signing a memorandum of understanding on developing a multi-million dollar complex at Falls Creek, this outspoken criticism of an order of monks is threatening to jeopardise negotiations.
One Shoalhaven City Councillor has vowed to walk out of the council meeting if Pastor Trevor Aspin was invited to give the prayer at the council meetings after his outspoken remarks about the order bringing evil into the Shoalhaven.
Anger continues to simmer over opposition to the Buddhist proposal, which while being fought on planning grounds has been described as "thinly-veiled religious intolerance".
The spark was lit by Pastor Aspin, chairman of the Ministers Association, who sent a memo to fellow ministers saying he believed God had directed him to call a war of prayer to stop the Shaolin temple being developed.
Councillor John Anderson a follower of Buddhist philosophy, threatened to walk out if Pastor Aspin was invited to open the next Shoalhaven City Council meeting with prayer.
Cr Anderson said there had been strong community support for the temple, contrary to views expressed by some within the Christian community.
"It's a great shame that this ever reared its head, that religious intolerance became an issue," Cr Anderson said.
He claimed Buddhism was compatible with Christianity because it taught people to aspire to good values, and indeed some countries of the world had large numbers of Christians also following Buddhist philosophy.
With the MOU set to go before a committee meeting for approval, Mayor Greg Watson repeated his prediction that if it went ahead, the Shaolin complex would be the greatest economic driver the Shoalhaven had ever seen.
Cr Watson said the economic impact on the Shoalhaven would be 10 times the effect of the Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong.
While arguments have been raised that the Nan Tien Temple has had little impact on the Illawarra's economy, this has been rejected by Tourism Wollongong general manager, Greg Binskin.
He said the temple attracted between 250,000 and 300,000 day visitors each year, many of them coming from overseas.
In addition festivals at the temple attracted up to 15,000 people, while the Nan Tien complex also hosted retreats and conferences.
With day visitors spending an average of $63 in an area, according to tourism statistics, they generated about $16 million a year for the Illawarra economy, Mr Binskin said, without even considering the impact of visitors staying for longer than a day.
With Cr Watson predicting a far bigger financial impact from the proposed Shaolin complex, he said the spin-off in terms of jobs and investment in the Shoalhaven was far greater.
He was preparing to release figures on the benefits to the Shoalhaven economy of having 200,000 international visitors annually, as their expenditure within an economy was far greater than the average figures prepared by tourism bodies.
But Cr Watson said those international visitors would be bolstered by an estimated 1.5 million day visitors per year, providing a huge financial windfall for the Shoalhaven.
Many of the visitors would be travelling to the complex to witness the amazing martial arts skills and displays of the Shaolin monks, Cr Watson said, while others would be going for health reasons to take part in health programs including herbal medicine, acupuncture and massage.
However the first stage was preparing the MOU, Cr Watson said, which "essentially will just outline a process, and way forward, and outline the options of obtaining the land with purchase, lease or lease-purchase - all at commercial rates."