19 November 2024

Delegates at the Local Government NSW Annual Conference have condemned a move by the State Government to establish a new planning body to bypass local government on large housing developments.

The unanimous vote was one of the first items of business at the conference, which is taking place in Tamworth this week.

On Friday, Premier Chris Minns announced a three-person planning authority will be given responsibility for housing developments over $60 million in the Sydney region and over $30 million in rural and regional areas.

The Premier said the reform will come into effect in early 2025 following a proposed “short and sharp consultation” with stakeholders.

“The housing crisis is multifaceted and requires all three spheres of government working together,” said LGNSW President, Darriea Turley AM.

“The local government sector is already doing our part and delegates to our conference are keen to work with State Government for further reform. What we don’t need though is for councils and communities to be pushed aside and excluded from the process in a move that will only lead to inappropriate overdevelopment and increased profits for developers.

“The announcement adds more uncertainty to the planning system and will further delay actual construction of housing on already approved sites. Why would developers build under the many approvals that already exist, when the NSW Government is effectively encouraging them to lodge new applications that exceed local planning controls, and where they can make windfall profits from spot rezoning?”

“We call on the Minns government to abandon plans for this undemocratic body and to work with us and with our communities,” she said.

The motion passed at the LGNSW Annual Conference is as follows:

Motion #4. Addressing the housing crisis – Greater collaboration on planning reforms 
That Local Government NSW and councils across the state:

Reaffirm their support for actions to address the housing crisis and acknowledge the need for new and more diverse housing in well-located areas across NSW. 

1. Call on the NSW Government to commit to a more collaborative approach in codesigning and implementing planning reforms with councils to ensure:
   
   
   1. Reforms are responsive to different planning contexts and deliver high quality, liveable and sustainable housing, neighbourhoods and communities. 
      
      
   2. Plans and provisions are made for the funding and timely delivery of both state and local infrastructure needed to support increased density. 
      
      
   3. Changes aimed at increasing development density uplift include the provision of affordable housing in-perpetuity. 
      
      
   4. There is robust, transparent and regular monitoring by the NSW Government of the outcomes of planning reforms with a holistic approach to the roles of all players in the planning and development process. 
      
      
2. Call on the NSW Government to investigate the number of vacant dwellings in NSW and how these can be quickly made available for housing.
   
   
3. Condemn the NSW Government’s 15 November 2024 announcement that it will bypass councils and communities with a new spot-rezoning and state approval pathway, which will deliver windfall gains for developers while removing safeguards that protect communities from inappropriate overdevelopment.

Source: Local Government News, 19 November 2024