20 September 2010
A committee of state and federal bureaucrats responsible for policy on public private partnerships (PPPs) have promised some reforms. Infrastructure Australia had engaged KPMG to help identify and find practical solutions to the most significant barriers to competition and efficiency in the procurement of PPPs. More information is are here.
The NSW Opposition has criticised the state government’s Affordable Housing SEPP. The Shadow Planning Minister, Brad Hazzard, said the policy allowing medium-density developments in suburban streets – provided half the dwellings were rented below market rates for a decade – was encouraging the wrong developments in the wrong areas. Mr Hazzard said the document should be “completely revamped”. More detail is here.
A sale of Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority property assets around Darling Harbour and The Rocks to raise at least $870 million for state government infrastructure programs, has reportedly stalled, with preferred tenderers chosen for only two out of a possible 12 of the assets. More details are here.
The draft Residential Tenancies Regulation 2010 is on exhibition until 15 October 2010. The regulation has been prepared to support the new Residential Tenancies Act 2010 that was passed by Parliament on 10 June 2010. The draft regulation can be accessed from here and a regulatory impact statement can be accessed from here.
The NSW Government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sydney City Council last week. The agreement included a commitment by the NSW Government to a Metropolitan Parking Policy, by the end of 2011. The MoU said that the state government would “investigate and implement a metropolitan parking policy that identifies the most effective parking control measures to manage private and commercial vehicle demand across the city and support public transport.” A policy of this kind, applying to the whole Sydney metropolitan area, was first promised in the 2006 Metropolitan Strategy. The Urban Taskforce comments on this latest commitment are here. The documentation from the NSW Government and City Council is available here.
A reminder – there is a ban on developer political donations in NSW. There are criminal penalties for breaches of the law. Among other things, this ban prohibits directors, officers and key shareholders of property development companies from participating in a political party’s events if they must pay a fee to enter (e.g. a dinner, breakfast, seminar or lunch). The ban also applies to people who make a payment on behalf of such an individual. That is, it is unlawful for someone to pay for a ticket on behalf of an individual who is a close associate of a property development company. The ban does not apply to Urban Taskforce events. More detail is available here.
Changes to the National Parks and Wildlife Act in NSW will take effect on 1 October 2010. Among other things, these changes will introduce new Aboriginal cultural heritage offences and a new permit system for developers. More detail is available here.
The NSW Minister for Planning, Tony Kelly, has defended in parliament the government’s compulsory land acquisition process for the South West Rail Link. Details are here.
The Department of Environment Climate Change and Water (DECCW) has released additional guidelines relating to emergency coastal protection works. More detail is here.
The DECCW has released two new guidelines to assist professionals who must consider sea level rise benchmarks when assessing coastal hazards and flood risk. The Flood Risk Management Guide is here and the Coastal Risk Management Guide is here.
NSW Minister for Housing, Frank Terenzini has announced approval of the concept plan for the $580 million Telopea urban renewal project. Details are here.
NSW Housing Minister Frank Terenzini has launched a $100 million Riverwood North affordable housing project. Details are here.
