13 August, 2013
Government must go back to the drawing board after botching planning legislation and misleading the public
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is calling on the state government to withdraw and substantially revise its draft Planning Bill following revelations by Planning Department Director-General Sam Haddad in today’s press. [1] Mr Haddad has admitted in a letter to the Better Planning Network that the draft Bill had “gone further than the government intended”, and staff may have spread “inaccurate or misleading information” during the consultation process.
Chief Executive Officer of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Pepe Clarke, said Mr Haddad’s admissions were alarming and warranted the withdrawal of the draft Bill.
“It is deeply troubling that there were serious errors made in drafting this important legislation and that public officials provided misleading information during the consultation period,” Mr Clarke said.
“The draft legislation is unfit for introduction to parliament. It is unfair, unbalanced and will have a profound impact on the community’s ability to participate in development approval processes.
“It places the interest of developers and industry above the interests of community and removes important protections for the environment.
“The conduct of senior planning officials during consultation period, by the Director General’s own admission, may have misled the public and influenced people’s submissions on the draft bill and planning white paper. Such behaviour by public officials is simply unacceptable.”
Mr Clarke said the Law Society of NSW had warned that key provisions of the Bill may be subject to constitutional challenge, particularly those that seek to prevent appeals against unlawful decisions, and ICAC had raised concerns about the broad discretion provided to decision makers, including the Planning Department Director-General.
“This process has been captured by developers and the mining industry, and the public has been misled about the impacts of the legislation on their rights and their local environment,” Mr Clarke said. “The government must go back to the drawing board.”
[1] www.smh.com.au/nsw/top-official-admits-errors-over-draft-planning-laws-20130812-2rsht.html#ixzz2bn6E5zfN
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