What does the Minister have to hide?

“This is a great day for transparency and public accountability,” said mover of the motion Sylvia Hale, Greens MP and spokesperson for Local Government.

“Despite Planning Minister Kelly telling the House earlier this week that he would be happy to reveal details of the complaints, when it came to the crunch he voted twice against doing so.

“It’s a gross abuse of power to threaten to remove a Council’s powers without giving the Council details of the complaints made against it so that it can respond.

“The Council has written to the Minister asking for specific details but he has refused to supply them.

“Just what does the Minister have to hide?

“Is it that the complaints are so frivolous that they won’t bear exposure to the light of day or will the documents show that the complaints are from self-interested parties and major donors to the Labor Party who cannot persuade a non-Labor-controlled Council of the benefits of their proposals?

“When the documents are released on 3 June, I and many other people will be keen to see what the Minister has been so keen to keep secret” said Ms Hale.

Greens Councillor James Ryan welcomed the Parliament’s decision.

“The time taken for Cessnock Council to assess planning proposals averages 80 days – that is only five more than the State average of 74 days,” Clr Ryan said.

“The record of the Department of Planning, however, is far worse than this. The Department has been considering major planning proposals from Cessnock Council for more than 12 months. The delays are of the Government’s making, not Council’s.

“The Minister’s actions in seeking to remove Council’s planning powers are hypocritical in the extreme,” said Clr Ryan. “I and almost all Cessnock Councillors welcome the Parliament’s decision.”

Contact: for Sylvia Hale call Colin Hesse on 02 9230 3030 or 0401 719 124

For Clr James Ryan call 0414 922 591