If the art of good government is to achieve a workable outcome for all parties involved then our current planning laws totally miss the mark.
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Having attended a number of Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) hearings the divide between the proponents of state significant developments and those opposed to the developments grows ever wider.
And there is growing frustration that the laws have become too one sided especially since the State Government introduced the State Environment Planning Policy(SEPP) 2013 which calls for the significance of the resource to be considered above other issues.
We understand the need to protect jobs but as the Mayor of Gunnedah, Owen Hasler said last week, at a PAC hearing into the Shenhua Watermark Coal Project in his district, some of the uncertainty and suspicion in the community would dissipate,if the government changed how major developments, particularly those that affect other landuses, were assessed.
Gunnedah like Singleton has to achieve a difficult balancing act between competing industries mining and agriculture and the impacts of mining on regional/rural communities.
Cr Hasler said his community is enthusiastic about the 500 jobs the Shenhua Coal Project would bring to the region.
But he wants the impact assessment process for this mine and others like it to be more robust and truly inclusive as well as adopting the precautionary principle and triple bottom line approach.
Its time this approach was taken and with a new Minister for Planning - Pru Goward in the hot seat one of her first big challenges is sorting out our planning mess where it would appear no one is sure where they stand or if their home or livelihood is safe.
Major industries in our district mining, agriculture and tourism all need certainty to prosper and ensure long term employment.
We cannot ignore the impacts from mining on our health and environment and there should also be assessments of cumulative impacts.
The sooner our planning laws are overhauled as suggested by Mayor Hasler and by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in its recommendations following two corruptions hearings involving the granting of mine exploration licences, the better for all the people and businesses of this state.
