All speakers were critical of the Green Paper, released as a “discussion” paper on the new reforms on July 14. In particular, it was felt the Green Paper constituted a “Developers’ Charter” and sought to limit community involvement in the planning process to the “strategic” stage only, in order to speed up the approval process.
Concerns were also expressed about there not being enough time for community input between the Green Paper and the White Paper.
The candidates for the upcoming by-election for the state seat of Sydney had also been invited to speak at the meeting and in particular to address the question: “What is your view of the Planning Green Paper, and, if elected, how will you work to ensure planning powers are returned to the community?”
Three of the candidates accepted the invitation to speak: Glenn Wall, Alex Greenwich and Shayne Mallard.
Glenn Wall, an Independent, expressed his views that the Green Paper is pro-development and that the system it proposes will be corrupt, so much so that even the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has concerns about it. He urged people not to vote Liberal and to let the local Liberal candidate know. He recognised that he does not have a realistic chance of winning the seat of Sydney but he pledged to continue to fight for the community.
Alex Greenwich, also an Independent but with the endorsement of departed MP Clover Moore, said that he was inspired by the people of Sydney present at the meeting. He shared the community’s concerns about the Green Paper. While recognising that the planning laws needed to be improved, he opposes planning decisions made by unelected bodies behind closed doors. He supports the need for locally elected councillors and community groups to be involved in planning.
Shayne Mallard, the Liberal Party candidate, began by saying he was not at the meeting to defend the Green Paper but that the Planning Minster, Brad Hazzard, had assured him that the community will have a say in the development process under the proposed new system. He said that he hears the community concerns, however, and that therefore if people wanted an effective voice in parliament they should vote for him. He criticised the existing planning legislation and reminded the audience that the government had been elected to do something about it.
The meeting concluded with Corinne Fisher, of the BPN, urging people to contact the Premier’s office to request that the community be given six months in which to comment on the White Paper and the draft legislation.
