Ballina Shire Council’s Cr Kiri Dicker will move a motion in tomorrow’s meeting to oppose the state government’s proposed reforms to the environmental planning and assessment act.
Cr Dicker says she’s concerned that the proposed law change will:
- Further centralise planning powers and reduce or remove the role of councils, and therefore the voice of local communities, in decisions affecting their communities.
- Undermine safeguards recommended by the Independent Commission Against Corruption regarding accountability, transparency and probity in the planning system.
- Place an additional burden on the resources of local councils to assess certain developments within an unreasonable timeframe.
- Contribute to negative environmental and community outcomes by making it unlawful to consider the environmental impacts, site suitability or public interest of any development or class of development nominated by the Secretary of Planning.
She is urging Ballina Council to write to the President and CEO of Local Government NSW (LGNSW) expressing concern that the statement issued by LGNSW on 18th September does not reflect LGNSW’s own policy platform, was released without consultation with the Board and was not subject to consultation with members.
Major change to impact all types of development across state
Cr Dicker said that while the new bill is being presented by the government purely as a housing supply measure, it makes sweeping changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 which would impact all types of development across NSW, including large-scale commercial, industrial and infrastructure projects.
The government is proposing to remove Regional Planning Panels and legislate two new authorities in their place: the Development Coordination Authority (which is the Planning Secretary) and the Housing Delivery Authority (comprising the Planning Secretary and two
members appointed by the minister, with no requirements for specific skills or experience).
A new streamlined assessment pathway is proposed (‘targeted development assessment’) that can apply to a single development or entire class of development, and which makes it unlawful to consider the development’s environmental impacts, site suitability, and public interest.
The requirement to consult with the Environment Department in the case if a development affecting critical habitat, threatened species or ecological communities would be removed.
These and other concerns will be discussed at tomorrow’s Ballina Council meeting, with Cr Dicker seeking the support of councillors to write to the NSW premier, the minister for planning and public spaces, the state member for Ballina and other relevant stakeholders regarding the proposed reforms.
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Twelve Northern Rivers residents are celebrating the completion of a groundbreaking program designed to build essential skills and unlock employment pathways for women in civil construction. With local government meeting practice across the state returning to confusion following the NSW Legislative Council's recent decision, Ballina Shire Council's last meeting included a lot of unanimous decisions and an argument about the remnants of the Big Scrub, in which Mayor Cadwallader used her casting vote to squash Cr Simon Chate's motion. Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved Ballina Shire Council's application to increase its general income through a permanent special variation (SV) of 26.25% [in rates] over four years, from 2026-27 to 2029-30. Byron Greens members could expect to be asked to take the future of the Richmond River further south into account when choosing a candidate for next year’s state election. Local business owners in the Alstonville and Wollongbar townships are being encouraged to take the time to read through Ballina Shire Council’s draft plans, which are currently on exhibition.
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