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Fight the wolves at your door

Tuesday 22 April, 2008 9:01am

COUNCILS across NSW have warned their residents to be "very afraid" about the latest "pro-developer" laws proposed by the State Government.

Local councils, shires and mayors joined forces last Friday to launch the "Keep It Local" campaign a bid to keep vital planning controls and developer contributions in the local community.

Councils fear new laws announced by Planning Minister Frank Sartor benefit developers and would see cash-strapped councils stripped of as much as $4 million per year that they need for vital community services.

Mr Sartor said he would introduce planning assessment panels for projects valued at more than $50 million and increase the role of private building certifiers to approve small-scale building works.

But Local Government Association president and North Sydney Mayor Genia McCaffery said the plan could open the system to corruption.

She also said it would stop the community having a say on what was built in their street.

This would make councils and residents powerless to stop development that would affect their community, she said.

"We all live in a community and we all have a right to have a say about what happens," Cr McCaffery said.

"If they put this legislation through Parliament we will all lose the right to have a say about development in our street and ... the first time anyone in the community will be able to find out what is happening is when the bulldozer turns up."

Cr McCaffery said the use of private certifiers to approve development applications, instead of council officers, would change the face of communities.

"Private companies who are working for the developers and who clearly have vested interests will be able to decide these developments and the community will be disadvantaged," she said.

"This is about a development application coming through next door to you will be (now) decided by a private company employed by the applicant and you will have no say and you will have no idea what is happening."

Moves by Mr Sartor to reduce developer contributions to councils have also received criticism. Cr McCaffery warned that the move would "decimate" local council services for the benefit of developers. "We know the other really scary part of the campaign is that developers will have to pay less money to build community facilities," she said.

"If you keep on ripping money out of councils we will not be able to supply the critical services (such as) the library, the parks and community centres. Its what makes communities decent.

"We should all be afraid, very afraid."

But "The Keep It Local" campaign drew criticism from the Property Council of Australia.

"Claims by the LGSA that the State Government's proposed planning reforms will strip communities of essential services is nothing but an appalling attempt to frighten the public," the council's NSW executive director Ken Morrison said.

"It is also untrue ... that the proposed changes to the legislation are pro-developer."