‘Cost shifting’: Lismore council stripped of planning powers, ratepayers to pay for ‘expert panel’
The state government has stripped a flood-ravaged council of planning powers to speed up flood recovery and created a planning panel that ratepayers will fund out of their own pockets.
Regional News
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Elected representatives in the state’s north coast has been stripped of their planning powers, with Lismore council ratepayers set to fork out salaries for a newly appointed planning panel.
On Monday afternoon, Lismore City Council released correspondence from Planning Minister Anthony Roberts, revealing he had appointed members to the independent Planning Panel.
This comes despite council voting against the panel earlier this month following amendments to planning laws that came into effect on February 13.
The minister argued the move was an important part of the Lismore Flood Recovery Planning Package, “which is designed to speed up planning professes to support flood recovery efforts.”
Mr Roberts told Lismore Mayor councillor Steve Krieg he had overridden the decision of council not to implement a planning panel in a letter on February 27.
“As council has not constituted a Lismore Planning Panel as is required under (legislation) ... (I) have appointed members to it on council’s behalf,” he said.
Appointments to the panel were made from a list of experts, who will be paid by Lismore Council, and in extension, Lismore rate payers.
“As I have already constituted the Lismore City LPP, it is able to commence its functions immediately,” he said.
“Council is responsible for remunerating the panel and is required to provide it with staff and facilities to be able to exercise its functions.”
Greens upper house MLC, Cate Faehrmann called for the government to reverse its decision and pay the costs of the planning panel.
“The Planning Minister has a track record of disempowering communities to serve developer interests,” she said. “the last thing the people of Lismore need is an undemocratic planning panel making decisions for them.
“The NSW Government needs to establish a process that gives Lismore residents agency over the reconstruction process, not one that will let developers roll over the community to squeeze as much profit out of reconstruction as they can.
She said the state government was “cost shifting” which would “hurt Lismore Council ratepayers even more”.
“The fact that Lismore Council needs to pay for the staff and facilities of the government‘s sham planning panel is completely unacceptable.”
The chairperson of the panel will be paid $2000 per meeting, and $285 per hour for business that occurs outside of meetings.
An independent expert on the panel will be paid $1500 per meeting, and $214 per hour for business that occurs outside of meetings.
A community representing on the panel will be paid $500 per meeting, and $71 per hour for business that occurs outside of meetings.
Adam Guise, Greens Lismore councillor and candidate for Lismore said it was “outrageous” the government was “riding roughshod” Lismore and removing “Lismore councillors from local planning decisions”.
“The government claims this is to accelerate flood recovery but here we are 12 months on and thousands of people are still homeless and displaced,” he said.
“Planning decisions will now be taken away from elected councillors and given to government appointed bureaucrats who don't live in our communities.
“What this means is that councillors will be sidelined from important decisions about where and how our community rebuilds.
“Our community wants a say in our future housing choices and imposing inappropriate developments on the community in the name of flood recovery will cause conflict.”
The Planning Minister told The Northern Star the community was “still recovering from the devastating floods last year, which damaged or destroyed around 6000 homes in the Northern Rivers, with many people still without a safe place to call home”.
“Due to the impact and the need to speed up the delivery of much-needed housing and provide more certainty, I made the decision to constitute a Local Planning Panel for Lismore,” he said. “This decision was made to support the community of Lismore and provide more consistent and transparent decision-making.
“The panel will enable councillors of Lismore City Council to continue to focus on setting strategic direction and building community resilience following the February–March 2022 floods.
“Council officers will continue to assess and determine standard development applications.”
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