14 January 2011
The National Broadband Network (NBN) Co has created a new web portal for developers to request fibre infrastructure. It is here.
The NSW Government will go into caretaker mode on 4 March 2011. This will normally prevent the Minister for Planning or other government ministers from making policy decisions, issuing approvals or entering into contracts. Part 3A matters that require a ministerial decision are unlikely to be progressed after this date. Details are here.
New coastal areas maps, which apparently identify future impacts of climate change on some coastal regions, have been released by the Federal Government. The Federal Government says that the maps identify low-lying areas in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, the Hunter, Central Coast and South East Queensland that require planning for the unavoidable impacts of climate change. The maps show the potential long-term effects of climate change, highlighting three simple sea level rise scenarios for the period around the year 2100: low (0.5m), medium (0.8m) and high (1.1m). The low scenario represents future sea-level rise which is likely to be unavoidable; the medium scenario is in line with recent global emissions and observations of sea-level rise and the high scenario considers the possible high-end risk identified in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Assessment Report and more recent research. The maps are available via the OzCoasts website here.
The Australian Government have released a national ports strategy. It allows the Commonwealth to assume oversight of land use planning in the area around nationally-significant ports. This strategy suggests that encroaching urban development has the potential to limit the productivity of ports and state and local planning authorities will now be expected to develop “buffer” strategies to prevent such encroachment on the ports and transport links. The strategy is available here. The principles articulated, more or less, reflect the policies already adopted by state-based planning authorities, so the strategy shouldn’t necessarily require a new approach. However, the involvement of the Commonwealth may complicate strategic planning processes and lead to delays. We consider this unhelpful and will maintain a watching brief.
The NSW Government has released a draft of the Retail Leases Amendment Bill 2011 for public comment. The Government media release is here. Further detail is here. A response for the media given by the Urban Taskforce is here. Parliament will not be re-convening prior to the March state election, so it will be up to the incoming government to respond to the outcome of the consultation process.
The ATO has released a much anticipated public ruling (MT 2010/1) on GST refunds. Despite strong representations from the property industry, the ruling is set to severely restrict the ability of developers to obtain and retain GST refunds when they find they have overpaid GST. The ATO interpretation of the GST law set out in the ruling is highly controversial and may well be challenged by developers through the Court process. More detail from PWC is here.
The NSW Government has released a new waste strategy aimed at increasing resource recovery and reducing waste for public comment. Some of the specific actions proposed include: encouraging more councils to adopt the best practice three bin system and funding and encouraging more permanent collection depots for problem wastes such as e- waste, paints, batteries and timber. Comments on the strategy will be accepted until 2 February 2011. The Government media release is here and the draft strategy documents here (scroll to the bottom of the webpage).
The NSW Government has released the Minister’s Requirements under the Coastal Protection Act. This document details the minimum requirements that must be met, particularly relating to the placement, maintenance and removal of emergency coastal protection works. The Minister’s requirements are here.
Draft Guidelines for Assessing the Impacts of Seawalls have also been released for public consultation. These guidelines recommend analysis techniques for assessing the impacts of seawalls on coastal processes and the resulting impacts on land adjacent to the seawall. Apparently these guidelines will support proposed amendments to the Infrastructure SEPP permitting landowners to apply to construct seawalls. Comments on these draft guidelines will be accepted until 4 February 2011. The draft guidelines are here.
