5 November 2013
The agreement between the NSW Government and the Federal Government to create a one-stop shop for environmental approvals will speed up development approvals says the Urban Taskforce.
“Many developments in NSW have been delayed for months and even years through the overlapping minefield of state and federal environmental legislation.” Says Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson “ In some cases developments that had state approvals to proceed were then caught up in a new round of approvals required by the federal government through their Environmental Protection, Biodiversity and Conservation legislation. “
“One project for apartments in Parramatta was actually under construction when the project became a controlled action because the Federal Government became concerned about views from a heritage item. The project’s developer having achieved all state approvals then had to negotiate with a new set of requirements from the Commonwealth that threatened the viability of the whole project.”
“Other projects found that there was little urgency when dealing with public servants in Canberra who were remote from sites and had no time limits on their decision making times.”
“Clearly environmental issues need to be handled carefully but holding a project on hold indefinitely is not acceptable.”
“The Urban Taskforce is keen to work with state and federal officials to implement a system for environmental approvals that is timely and understands the need to balance competing issues.”