Sunday’s Death of Democracy rally highlighted community frustration with Labor’s centralised, one-size-fits-all approach to planning that locked local residents and councils out of planning decisions, State MPs Barry O’Farrell and Jonathan O’Dea said today.
Mr O’Dea and Mr O’Farrell, along with outgoing Bradfield Federal MP, Brendan Nelson, and newly preselected Liberal candidate for Bradfield, Paul Fletcher, attended the KRA-organised protest.
“The Liberal Party is determined to put people back at the centre of government in NSW, and that includes our planning system,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“Unlike Labor, we trust people and want to empower them to make decisions. We also believe that local decision-making delivers better results for communities,” he said.
“It’s why we are strongly committed to overhauling the State planning system.
Mr O’Farrell and Mr O’Dea said that the Liberal planning reform package included:
· returning local planning powers to local councils;
· scrapping Part 3A which gives the Minister for Planning the power to override local communities;
· re-writing the State’s 30 year old planning laws to ensure greater certainty, transparency, timeliness and merit-based decision-making;
· appointing a Minister for Planning and Infrastructure to guarantee planning decisions are matched by improvements to infrastructure and services;
· creating a separate Minister for Heritage to end the current conflict of interest between a Minister responsible for development and heritage protection; and
· capping donations, limiting election spending and regulating lobbyists to end Labor’s ‘decisions for donations’ culture.
“The NSW Liberals are confident these changes will ensure better planning outcomes for urban and regional communities alike.
“Voters will have a clear choice on planning at the next election,” Mr O’Farrell said.
