22 December 2011 - The
Australian and NSW governments have signed
off on a program which paves the way for
30 years of sustainable growth in western
Sydney.
Federal Environment
Minister Tony Burke and NSW Planning and
Infrastructure Minister Brad Hazzard today
announced the Sydney Growth Centres Strategic
Assessment Program which will streamline
delivery of new homes to meet growth, cut
red tape for developers and provide certainty
for communities.
A strategic assessment
provides a big-picture study under national
environmental law, the Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,
of an area to assess how environmental values
can be best protected while allowing sustainable
development.
Mr Burke said the Sydney
Growth Centres Strategic Assessment Program
would free up at least 2500 hectares of
land for employment, facilitate delivery
of more than 180,000 homes and drive more
than $7.5 billion in infrastructure investment.
"This plan for
Sydney cuts red tape which makes housing
more affordable without wrecking our local
environment," Mr Burke said.
"Sydney now has
a framework for urban growth for the next
30 years that cuts red tape and provides
planners, developers and the community with
long-term certainty.
"We are making
sure that we're developing sustainable communities
that accommodate Sydney's growing population
over the next 30 years, while providing
certainty around how development can progress
and ensure protection of our critically
endangered environment like the Cumberland
Plain Woodland.
"This program is
about taking a big-picture approach to development
and environmental protection, and looking
at cumulative environmental impacts over
Sydney's growth centres rather than a piecemeal
development approach – it's equivalent to
about 500 individual project submissions
and means they don't have to be done on
a project by project basis.
"This is a great
example of proactive and collaborative decision-making
by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
It also means the NSW Government will have
to return the conservation benefits to western
Sydney communities by setting aside open
spaces in this region."
A strategic assessment
reduces red tape by considering federal
and state environmental planning issues
in a single assessment process and give
greater upfront clarity to developers, landholders,
planners, industry, government and the community.
It means that once a
program has been endorsed under the EPBC
Act and the types of development or activities
allowed to take place have been approved,
individual projects do not need any further
approval under national environmental law
if done in accordance with the approved
program.
The Sydney Growth Centres
Strategic Assessment incorporates a $530
million commitment by the NSW Government
for the Growth Centres Conservation fund
to be invested on the Cumberland Plain in
western Sydney.
Mr Hazzard said, "This
is a great leap forward for a common sense
approach to ensuring NSW gets the development
it needs in western Sydney and we get a
collaborative effort by Federal and State
Governments to protect conservation areas
in western Sydney.
"The endorsement
of the Sydney Growth Centres Strategic Assessment
Program will reduce the time and cost of
the approval process, while increasing certainty
for the delivery of housing and infrastructure.
"That's because
environmental impacts are assessed - and
offsets are identified and secured - only
once, rather than twice under separate NSW
and Commonwealth environment legislation
for the same impact," Mr Hazzard said.
"This will help
streamline delivery of the homes we need
to accommodate Sydney's anticipated population
growth of 1.7 million by 2036.
"A substantial
part of Sydney's greenfield housing will
be built in the North West and South West
Growth Centres, where more than 180,000
new homes are planned for 500,000 people
in liveable communities over the next 25
to 30 years.
"The Commonwealth's
lawful entitlement to have an input to conservation
issues in development sites had frustrated
developers because of what they perceived
as the doubling-up on environmental accountabilities
ie: to the State and the Commonwealth.
"I want to thank
Minister Burke for his prompt and constructive
bridging of what had been a Federal-State
divide for many years – it shows clearly
Federal and State Governments can work well
together for the best interests of residents."
Now that the program
is endorsed, the Federal Government will
consider approval for the types of activities
permitted to take place under it. Such activities
will need no further federal assessment,
provided they accord with the program.
Under its Sustainable
Australia – Sustainable Communities strategy,
the Australian Government has committed
$29.2 million to support strategic assessments
in up to seven regional growth areas to
establish sustainable communities in an
environmentally sensitive way.
+ More
Liberals make excuses
for violence at sea
07 December 2011 - Tony
Abbott should reprimand his Opposition Environment
spokesperson Greg Hunt for absolving whalers
and whaling protestors of their responsibility
for safety in the Southern Ocean.
Mr Hunt said on 5aa this morning:
"I think that the
level of conflict has escalated under the
current Government rather than reduced.
In part I think that's because there was
this enormous promise of action and then
effective paralysis and the result is that
the protestors on the one hand have become
more agitated, the whalers on the other
hand, have become more aggressive in their
response. And as a consequence, we have
a real risk of a major incident at sea."
Mr Burke said Mr Hunt should be condemning
any violence at sea - not seeking to absolve
parties of any responsibility.
"Australia has fulfilled, and will
continue to fulfill, all our international
legal obligations arising from events in
the Southern Ocean," Mr Burke said.
"I call on the Opposition to join the
Government in urging safety at sea."
Mr Hunt also suggested
Australia should throw out its court case
in the International Court of Justice to
stop Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean
for good.
"In particular, I think the International
Tribunal on the Law of the Sea is a better
avenue than the International Court of Justice,
which the Government has taken." -
Opposition Environment spokesperson Greg
Hunt 5aa, Wednesday 7 December, 2011
Mr Burke said every action the Gillard Government
was taking was about stopping whaling in
the Southern Ocean for good.
"Australia has taken a tougher line
than any other country in the world by taking
action against Japan in the International
Court of Justice," he said.
"This was recognised by many other
nations at the International Whaling Commission.
"Throughout the entire period of the
Howard Government the Liberal Party refused
to take legal action against Japan.
"It's a bit embarrassing to now see
the Liberal Party trying to be sideline
commentators."
Mr Burke said the Gillard Government was
opposed to all forms of commercial whaling
including so-called scientific whaling.
"The Government considers that Japan's
whaling is wrong, contrary to its international
obligations and should stop," he said.
"That's why the Government last year
initiated legal action against Japan in
the International Court of Justice to bring
an end to Japan's so-called 'scientific'
whaling in the Southern Ocean.
"The decision to take legal action
demonstrates the Government's commitment
to do what it takes to end whaling globally."
