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Strategic regional land use policies to be prepared

27 May 2011

The NSW Government has announced that it will develop strategic regional land sse policies. The Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Brad Hazzard, says that additional strategic plans are required to address land use conflicts between the agricultural, mining and energy sectors.

 

These new plans are ostensibly targeted towards land use conflicts between primary industries. However, Department of Planning and Infrastructure literature regarding strategic regional land use plans say that these plans will identify the best places for a range of land uses including agriculture, mining, coal seam gas extraction, conservation and urban development.

 

We are advised that these plans will be developed for all parts of the State. Work on the first plans will start within twelve months for the areas of:

 

  • Upper Hunter (including Gloucester);
  • New England North West (including Gunnedah and Liverpool Plains);
  • Central West; and
  • Southern Highlands.

Until these plans have been developed a number of transitional measures have been put in place including:

 

  • a 60 day moratorium on the granting of new coal, coal seam gas, and petroleum exploration licences in NSW;
  • a requirement that all new coal, coal seam gas, and petroleum extraction applications must be accompanied by an agricultural impact statement; and
  • the establishment of stakeholder reference group consisting of the key agricultural, industrial and conservation groups to advise on the development and implementation of policy.

The Department of Planning and Infrastructure says that the existing regional strategies will remain in place as they relate to areas of high population growth, and address different issues. The proposed strategic regional land use plans will focus on other areas of the state, and in particular develop a framework to manage land use conflicts between coal and coal seam gas industries and agriculture.

 

In our view, this program of work is likely to reduce the resources the Department has to undertake strategic planning in area of high population growth.

 

A departmental fact sheet on this issue is here.