It appears the State Labor Government has lost direction – in more ways than one, according to the Member for Davidson, Jonathan O’Dea.
“For reasons that appear difficult to fathom, the Minister for Planning has placed the Ku-ring-gai Local Council Area under the Sydney West Joint Planning Panel,” Mr O’Dea said.
“Given Ku-ring-gai is very much a part of the North Shore and extends to the coast through Middle Harbour, it is bewildering to understand how it could possibly be included under the Sydney West Joint Planning Panel.”
“The decision to place Ku-ring-gai under the Sydney West Panel is even more bewildering when it is East of Lane Cove, Ryde, Canterbury and Strathfield Local Council Areas, which are all covered by the Sydney East Joint Planning Panel,” Mr O’Dea said.
“What hope do local residents have when the State Labor Government doesn’t appear to even know where Ku-ring-gai is?
“Its apparent lack of direction is matched by its lack of understanding over the impact of its planning policies on the local area and the depth of feeling within the community against the changes,” he said.
“The Death of Democracy Motorcade and Rally this weekend highlights even further, how out-of-touch the NSW Labor Government is on planning in Ku-ring-gai.
“Today, in advance of the rally, I moved the Parliament note the considerable community outrage at the "death of democracy" in the Ku-ring-gai Council area, as marked by the funeral procession on Sunday and condemn the inappropriate push for significantly more new dwellings in the Ku-ring-gai Council area than the 10,000 agreed pursuant to the NSW Metropolitan Strategy.
“When elected to government, the NSW Liberals will address the outrage by returning planning controls to local residents, appointing a Minister for Planning and Infrastructure as well as a separate Minister for Heritage, and scraping the controversial ‘Part 3A’ planning powers used by the Minister to override local communities.
“While State Labor has lost its direction, the Liberals are clear over the direction they will take to address Labor’s poor planning policies,” Mr O’Dea concluded.
