Olivia Brushes off the dirt
Olivia Newton-John is innocent - and that’s official. “It was all a load of rubbish,” said Olivia’s secretary, Dana Sharpe. “there was never anything in the accusations at all.” The accusations Dana is referring to began earlier this year when fellow residents in the star-studded Los Angeles suburb of Malibu, decided that Olivia was damaging the environment on the beach front property she’d bought to build her dream home.
The residents got together and wrote letters to the local press saying that “dirt and garbage” had been thrown into the sea and that they could no longer swim there because of the filth. Later, four residents from a neighbouring condominium filed a lawsuit citing environmental damage and accusing Olivia, a committed environmentalist, of having double standards. It created such a furore, the story was picked up all over the world. What was Olivia Newton-John - a woman who made a point of talking publicly about how we all had to work to save the planet for our children - doing messing up her own backyard?
Olivia said: “dirt and garbage were never dumped on the beach or in the ocean. In fact, geologists and environmental agencies were consulted to ensure that our activities would not damage the natural environment. And we took ever precaution possible to preserve the natural environment while construction was underway.”
At first it was Olivia’s voice alone against a lot of people eager to believe the worst about the star. Now though the Californian Coastal Commission has made a thorough investigation of the complaints and the results are that Olivia Newton-John has been found innocent of any wrong-doing.
Pam Emerson, who handled the case at the Coastal Commission explained: “A few folks got a bit excited because they thought Miss Newton-John was doing things she shouldn’t. Naturally, we had to investigate. What we found was that Miss Newton-John’s builders had applied for a permit to grade during the rainy season (something of a joke in California, which is now in the fourth year of a drought). Due to delays and hold-ups in the building schedule, the grading couldn’t be started until after the due date. They applied for permission to grade later in the season and it was granted. They were not in breach of any law and they graded with permission.”
“The second problem seemed to be that residents thought that sand which was placed on the beach, was polluting the beach. Well, in fact, the sand was brought in to build a retaining wall during construction. During a couple of tides that were higher than usual, some of the sand was washed out to sea. Some people thought this was pollution. In fact, it was only sand. There wasn’t any garbage involved and steps were quickly taken to stop it happening again. The sand was originally brought in to build a retaining wall during construction of the house to prevent any possible environmental damage.”
Pam Emerson added: “We really couldn’t find any points on which Miss Newton-John was breaching any environmental or building codes, and she’s been given full permission to go ahead with her home.”
Olivia admitted that she was upset by the barrage of accusations that flew at her so quickly and without anyone bothering to do any investigation or research. “Like my mother, I’m concerned about the environment. I want my daughter to grow up in a world where she can swim in the ocean and camp in the bush,” Olivia said. “I wonder if the people who were so quick to judge me thought about the number of trees that had to be cut down so they could file lawsuits? My husband and I have done everything we can to make sure that we don’t do any environmental damage while we are building our home. The whole issue was a transparent attempt to attack me through the media.”
Malibu is an interesting part of the California coast line. It’s a strip-like development of homes which command prices that seem more like long-distance telephone numbers than actual cash figures. If you take any Aussie tourist for a drive up the coast to see where people like Cher, John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal live, they look at you in shock and ask where the real mansions are where the stars live.
On the surface, it’s a scrubby little community and the most sought after real estate, on the beach, backs on to the Pacific Highway so the traffic is non-stop night and day. “It’s not quite as bad as it seems,” said one resident. “Only the maids quarters are located at the back of the houses. The owners live at the front, away from the noise and with the best views.”
The houses are built on tiny pieces of land and crammed so close, in most cases, it’s difficult to imagine there’s a whole lot of privacy. And yet, it’s considered one of the most prestigious residential areas of Los Angeles. The double irony is that water pollution is escalating to such an extent that more people are questioning whether it is safe to swim the ocean at all. At Malibu prices go, Olivia’s project isn’t even over the top. She’s building a 540 square metre home at the comparatively modest cost of $2.6 million.
“I’d like to point out,” Olivia said, “that neither my husband nor I were ever cited by any government agency in connection with the building of our home. We obtained all the necessary permits required by the California Coastal Commission and other governmental agencies.”
It is ironic that no-one has bothered to talk about the results of the investigation into the claims that Olivia Newton-John had polluted the environment. But Olivia is not bothered at all. She said she will simply remain committed to making the world a better place for her daughter to grow up in.