Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens’ Planning spokesperson
Planning Minister, Roger Jaensch, today confirmed, under questioning from the Greens in Parliament, he will introduce Major Projects legislation in 2019.
Minister Jaensch will introduce this legislation, despite two rounds of public consultation on the draft, in which community and planning groups widely condemned it as a perversion of natural justice and good planning process.
The mooted Major Projects legislation is likely to give a Planning Minister total power to declare major projects, with eligibility criteria so broad almost any development could be called-in without justification.
Unsurprisingly for the Hodgman Government, the public would have no right to appeal a planning approval.
Major Projects legislation would wave through projects like Cambria Green, the Fragrance Towers or a southern woodchip port. Where similar powers have been introduced in other jurisdictions, it has been a recipe for corruption in planning decisions.
The “open for business” mantra of the Liberal Government is causing alarm among communities. Instead of doing everything to stack the deck in favour of big developers, Minister Jaensch should rule out this legislation, and do his job to uphold good planning and the communities’ right to protect the places they love.