At the Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW) annual conference, delegates put forward a motion outlining concerns regarding the New South Wales Government’s new planning body for large housing developments.
The sector has voiced widespread concern at the State Premier’s announcement that 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.
Statements in support of the motion referred to the need for communities to retain their voice in such developments via their democratically elected councils.
LGNSW President, Darriea Turley, said that the housing crisis is multifaceted and requires all three spheres of government working together.
“The local government sector is already doing our part and delegates to our conference are keen to work with State Government for further reform,” Cr Turley said.
“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 New South Wales 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 State Government to abandon plans for this undemocratic body and to work with us and with our communities.”
The delegates at the LGNSW Annual Conference put forward the following motion, which passed:
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 New South Wales
- Call on the State Government to commit to a more collaborative approach in codesigning and implementing planning reforms with councils to ensure:
- Reforms are responsive to different planning contexts and deliver high quality, liveable and sustainable housing, neighbourhoods and communities
- Plans and provisions are made for the funding and timely delivery of both state and local infrastructure needed to support increased density
- Changes aimed at increasing development density uplift include the provision of affordable housing in-perpetuity
- There is robust, transparent and regular monitoring by the New South Wales Government of the outcomes of planning reforms with a holistic approach to the roles of all players in the planning and development process
- Call on the New South Wales Government to investigate the number of vacant dwellings in the state and how these can be quickly made available for housing
- Condemn the State 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
