The more they change the more it stays the same

“As a former General Manager of Wellington Council, Tony Kelly is well aware of the intense opposition within local government and the community to Part 3A of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act and the transfer of decision-making powers from councils to unelected regional planning panels dominated by Ministerial appointees,” said Sylvia Hale MLC, Greens Spokesperson for Planning.

“Only by immediately amending the Act to delete Part 3A of the Act, by dissolving regional planning panels and rewriting the housing codes, will Mr Kelly show that he is genuinely committed to the change the community so desperately wants.

“But his past performance as Minister for Lands suggests that it will be business as usual, so far as Planning is concerned.

“On the basis of his record there is little reason to hope that he will move away from planning policies and decisions that have favoured major donors and large corporations at the expense of residents and the environment.

“When Lands Minister, he consistently supported for de facto privatisation of a large portion of the Killalea State Park.

“The bankruptcy of the Mariner Finance and Babcock and Brown, major donors to the ALP and the prime movers behind the Killalea Coastal Developments’ proposal, gave him the opportunity to accede to the community’s wishes and bring the Agreement to Lease deal to an end.

“But he did not do so, despite the intense public opposition to the project and the South Coast Labor Council’s Green Ban.

“Being now both Minister for Planning and Minister for Lands, Tony Kelly faces an intolerable conflict of interest between his role as overseer of Crown Lands and the Minister responsible for determining development applications for use of those lands,” said Ms Hale.

Contact: Colin Hesse on 02 9230 3030 or 0401 719 124