Today the Premier has handed property developers an early Christmas present at the expense of every community in NSW, by sidelining councils and communities from the planning and assessment process.
The new planning authority announced by the Premier will create a new pathway for property developers to propose their own planning controls on sites of their choosing by going straight to the state-led authority and completely bypassing community-led planning.
Under the Premier's proposal, a new three-person state-led planning authority will bypass local councils and will have the ability to approve or reject developments worth more than $60 million in Sydney and $30 million in rural and regional areas.
The announcement has been strongly condemned by Cr Darriea Turley AM, the President of Local Government NSW (LGNSW), the peak body for local government.
"Councils are in shock and are bitterly disappointed," Cr Turley said.
"We know full well there is a housing crisis, and we honestly thought we were working with the State Government in good faith to address it. We were working collaboratively to improve the planning processes and ensure the voices of our communities are heard as part of any reform.
"Instead, without any warning, the Premier has moved the goalposts and dropped this bombshell.
"Removing councils from the spot rezoning process means removing the community's voice. It will give developers a clear run to propose their own height limits, density and green space settings - it means developers will now run our communities, not residents.
"This is putting our communities in jeopardy - it's not just about amenity, it's about the liveability of our communities - not just for us, but for generations to come. This new pathway will deliver windfall gains for developers and worsen congestion, create over-crowding and remove the safeguards that protect communities from inappropriate and ad hoc development. It also completely undermines community trust in planning.
"Undermining local planning will put even more pressure on infrastructure and communities, as residential towers rise where the roads, hospitals, schools and open space cannot accommodate them.
"This government is quick to blame delays on councils. Yet it is well established that the overwhelming cause of delays stem from infrastructure delivery issues, cost of materials, labour and financing harming project viability, and other hold-ups from a multitude of government agencies.
"The housing crisis is serious and requires genuine, evidence-based solutions, not scapegoating that ignores the broader challenges in housing construction that are beyond the control of the planning system.
"LGNSW calls on the NSW Government to listen to all communities, not just developers, in addressing the housing crisis. Come back to the table and work with local government, not against us."
