Over the holidays the SSC has contemplated an embarrassing litany of NSW Government Planning failures during 2018. We have come up with the Top 10:
1. $2b+ Sydney Light Rail project – appears to be multiple project planning and project management failures. From the absence of a credible business case, to budget blowouts, construction delays, unfair impacts on small business, residents and visitors – it all adds up to one stinky light fail project.
2. Westconnex – rumoured to now cost more than the entire NBN project, not sure if we will ever know the full cost, but it is estimated at over $17b. Critics believe a lack of transparency and meaningful consultation has also been a project highlight. Future users can contemplate relative merits, when they travel on Transurban’s private road, breathe in the unfiltered smoke stack air, and pay a road toll for the next 42 years.
3. Stadium splurge – with all the priorities facing NSW the Berejiklian Government decided that what they really needed to do was to spend billions destroying and rebuilding relatively OK sporting stadiums.
4. Powerhouse Museum move from Ultimo to Parramatta. The new Powerhouse will be located on flood prone land and the project will involve the destruction of heritage buildings including Victorian era Willow Grove and 1881 c terrace houses. Critics suggest the City of Parramatta could have a museum in its own right without relocating the Powerhouse Museum .
5. Opal Tower – the ‘poster child’ for all that is wrong with NSW Planning under the Berejiklian Government.
6. The NSW planning regime – critics consider NSW Planning is broken. Features include arbitrary housing targets, undue influence of vested commercial interests, poor building quality, inadequate consumer protection, dubious private certification processes (developers responsible for private certification reports including building quality, environmental impact studies, traffic studies , flood impact etc). And lastly, (to our future peril) a complete failure to factor climate change into urban design and planning processes.
7. Sydenham to Bankstown Metro – developers were delighted with this proposal but it brought a wave of very vocal community opposition and the proposal continues to be a big headache for NSW Planning Minister Roberts.
8. The Low Rise Medium Density Code – this code was introduced in July 2018. Concerns about community impact led to 50 councils applying for and receiving a 12 month exemption from the code until July 2019. The new code will allow developers to use the private certification process to build unit and town house development in low density housing areas. Critics believe this will pit resident against resident with local councils unable to intervene.
9. Failure to act in the public interest for the public good – critics believe the community has lost an important advocate and voice with the planning demotion of local councils. Critics also believe consultation on significant projects is token (at best) and there is a propensity to plough right ahead even when there is significant public disquiet – think Windsor Bridge, Parramatta Pool, Stadiums, Badgery’s Creek, and sale of inner city social housing e.g. Millers Point, Waterloo, Redfern, & Sirius building just to name a few.
10. Environmental Vandalism – critics believe the State Significant project process is being used to bypass important heritage, environmental and Aboriginal heritage legislated protection. Observers suggest that vested and commercial interests are prioritised over other interests. Think decline in river system health, Blue Mountains wilderness destruction, removal of trees and wildlife habitat, and approval of housing, infrastructure, mining and farming activities at the expense of the environment and even when there is significant scientific disquiet. https://www.smh.com.au/sydney-news/how-to-save-sydney-20180301-p4z2eu.html