Letters are needed to be sent to the Upper House Crossbench calling on them to support the Hon. Scott Farlow, MLC & Shadow Minister for Planning’s Private members Bill to disallow the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) program across Greater Sydney, including in Ku-ring-gai.
Write to Crossbench
Please write to the Upper House Crossbench calling on them to SUPPORT the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) DISALLOWANCE Bill.
Deadline: FRIDAY 2nd AUGUST 2024 (in readiness for Legislative Council sitting dates from 6-8 August or 13-15 August 2024.
[Please modify and use your own words as this makes a difference]
Dear Upper House Crossbench
I am deeply concerned that the NSW Government’s one size all Transport Oriented Development SEPP is a failed public planning policy that contravenes the Objectives of the NSW Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979.
I seek your support.
Please vote in SUPPORT of the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) DISALLOWANCE Bill 2024.
NSW needs to get its planning right for current and future generations.
In its current form the TOD will wipe out local planning controls to protect heritage and environmental values, so critical for a liveable city.
The TOD, in its current form, must be disallowed because it:
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is a blunt one size fits all planning instrument
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is poor planning
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is undemocratic
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removes local government’s planning powers
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lacks community consultation
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removes local government’s powers
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destroys heritage
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destroys trees + wildlife habitats
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provides no infrastructure for the TOD Tier 2s planned across Greater Sydney
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will increase Sydney’s traffic gridlock
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will not provide affordable housing
Thank you for your support.
Yours sincerely,
[Name & contact details]
Email to NSW Upper House Crossbench:
mark.banasiak@parliament.nsw.gov.au
robert.borsak@parliament.nsw.gov.au
emma.hurst@parliament.nsw.gov.au
rod.roberts@parliament.nsw.gov.au
taylor.martin@parliament.nsw.gov.au
rod.roberts@parliament.nsw.gov.au
jeremy.buckingham@parliament.nsw.gov.au
mark.latham@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Office.Mihailuk@parliament.nsw.gov.au
john.ruddick@parliament.nsw.gov.au
sue.higginson@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Cate.Faehrmann@parliament.nsw.gov.au
amanda.cohn@parliament.nsw.gov.au
abigail.boyd@parliament.nsw.gov.au
or POST LETTERS to Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
NSW Upper House Crossbench:
| Name | Party | |
| Members of the Upper House CROSSBENCH | ||
| Mark Banasiak | Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Party | mark.banasiak@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Robert Borsak | Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Party | robert.borsak@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Abigail Boyd | The Greens | abigail.boyd@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Jeremy Buckingham | Legalise Cannabis Party | jeremy.buckingham@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Amanda Cohn | The Greens | amanda.cohn@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Cate Faehrmann | The Greens | Cate.Faehrmann@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Sue Higginson | The Greens | sue.higginson@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Emma Hurst | Animal Justice Party | emma.hurst@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Mark Latham | Independent | mark.latham@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Rod Roberts | Independent | rod.roberts@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Taylor Martin | Independent | taylor.martin@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Tania Mihailuk | Pauline Hanson’s One Nation | Office.Mihailuk@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| Rod Roberts | Independent | rod.roberts@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
| John Ruddick | Libertarian Party | john.ruddick@parliament.nsw.gov.au |
For more information visit:
- TOD Disallowance Bill HERE
- Hansard 20 June 2024 HERE
- Hansard 5 June 2024 HERE
- NSW’s housing policy and Ku-ring-gai Council’s response HERE
Why the TOD is simply bad planning
The Transport Oriented Development State Environmental Planning Proposal (TOD) was enacted without the required community consultation, as specified in section c3.30 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. This section mandates community consultation following the publication of an explanation of the intended effect of the planning proposal.
The TOD was first announced in December 2023, just before the Christmas break, with no opportunity for community consultation before its planned implementation in April 2024. The limited and targeted consultation period consisted solely of “Council briefings” in early 2024. Reports from various councils indicated that these briefings provided no additional detail beyond what was published on the NSW Planning website in December 2024.
The TODs will override democratically elected Councils. The TODs will override local strategic planning and gazetted Local Environment Plans (LEP) & Development Control Plans. The TODs will override the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act requirement for community consultation, proper planning process and procedure. This is effectively bypassing the Gateway process for orderly changes to LEPs.
It is evident from informed sources that this TOD will not immediately impact the housing crisis as it will not significantly increase development due to constraints in the construction industry, financing costs, and the availability of skilled labour. Additionally, it will not deliver affordable housing at scale.
The Master Builders Association advises that the reforms targeting more housing will only be effective if productivity issues within the industry are addressed, which the TOD planning proposal does not do. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of Australia forecasts a downturn in the construction industry due to the current economic cycle that will last for years regardless of planning amendments.
The TOD planning proposal’s one-size-fits-all approach will have long-lasting detrimental impacts on local amenities because the simplistic circles on a map fail to consider local conditions such as:
· Affordability
· Social Housing shortfall
· Geographical constraints
· Current infrastructure capacity to support higher density
· Traffic impacts
· Bushfire and Flood-prone areas
· Heritage
· Protection of threatened fauna & flora species
· Other hazards (land slip, infrastructure safety zones, subsidence etc)
Local councils have been pressured to rapidly implement these controls in their Local Environment Plans (LEP), which goes against proper and orderly planning. This rush, without the opportunity for meaningful community consultation, is contrary to the usual council-led planning process where community feedback is sought and required on any planned changes to LEPs.
