1000 jobs at risk as independent MP puts breaks on gas approval
A single independent MP is holding thousands of jobs hostage by moving to block government plans to hold planning hearings online in order to fast track the approval process for major projects like Narrabri.
NSW
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A single independent MP is holding thousands of jobs hostage by moving to block government plans to hold planning hearings online in order to fast track the approval process for major projects like Narrabri.
Former Greens MP Justin Field said he will push to disallow proposed new regulations that will enable NSW’s Independent Planning Commision (IPC) to conduct public hearings electronically while the COVID-19 restrictions are in place.
Mr Field’s move is an attempt to further delay the Narrabri gas project, which would deliver 1000 jobs to northwest NSW.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes on Thursday told The Daily Telegraph that any move to ban virtual planning committee meetings could see NSW’s economy grind to a halt.
“The planning system helps inject $2.7 billion into the state’s economy, on average, each month,” Mr Stokes said. “If the planning system stops, so does our economy.”
In the last financial year, planning panels approved 360 projects that injected $13.6 billion into the state’s economy.
“Blocking our changes to enable public hearings and meetings to continue during the pandemic is reckless and puts our state’s economy and thousands of jobs at risk,” Mr Stokes said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the changes were “not about removing the ability for people to have their say”.
“Now is not the time to be playing politics and seeking to appease minority interest groups — the survival of thousands of jobs and businesses are very much on the line,” he said.
Mr Field said tens of thousands of NSW residents opposed the Narrabri gas project.
“The idea that thousands of people could fairly engage in an online public hearing doesn’t stack up,” he said.
But Mr Stokes said: “The changes don’t stop anyone from having a say on a project — it simply changes the way we participate.”
The Greens are expected to support Mr Field’s motion while key crossbenchers from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers are expected to vote with the Coalition.
It could pass if Mr Field secures the support of Labor, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and Animal Justice Party. Labor was noncommittal last night.