Pro-development lobbies the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Planning Institute of Australia (a key player influencing and supporting the NSW Government’s planning ‘reforms’), have accused BPN of ‘an aggressive and often one-sided approach to advocacy’, ‘mis-communicating the facts’ and threatening ‘good planning’ .  Both Minister Hazzard and Mr Sam Haddad, Director-General of Planning, have hit back at the BPN verbally or by written communication.

B U T   the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the NSW Heritage Council, the Law Society of NSW, the Royal Institute of Architects, the Environmental Defender’s Office, Shelter NSW and many others, including of course the Local Government sector, have raised very serious issues with the reforms.

Please attend the BPN General Meeting:   Thursday 24 October, 7pm at Redfern Town Hall. 

Last week, Local Government NSW conference delegates resolved to oppose any planning legislation that does not include the following principles:

• Community participation is enshrined at all stages of planning;
• Councils are given equal status to the Minister in planning decisions;
• Triple bottom line outcomes for planning decisions;
• No requirement to re-write standard instrument LEPs which are less than 10 years old; and
• No strategic compatibility certificates
• Ecologically Sustainable Development.