THE NSW government’s latest land use policy, which seeks to balance mining, community and agricultural needs, has come under criticism from stakeholders. Public submissions can be lodged here.
A range of questions are yet to be addressed.
What purpose will an independent review (Gateway) panel serve if doesn’t have veto powers over projects? Will investor confidence and resource project development take a hit? What will be the impact of a policy waiting in the wings, which could prioritise the economic benefits of a mineral resource over social and environmental considerations?
What they said
NSW Farmers president Fiona Simson welcomes aspects of the new policy, but wants the previously floated notion of an aquifer interference policy (AIP) to have teeth.
Mitchell Clapham, “Rockleigh”, Ilford, about 55km south east of Mudgee is “disillusioned as to what this government has said, and what it has actually done.” His property is under exploration for coal.
He said the amendment which proposes to prioritise the economic value of a resource “totally ameliorates any gain in the Gateway process.”
APPEA chief executive David Byers said: “The fact that NSW’s primary source of local natural gas has safely operated in western Sydney for more than a decade appears to have been lost in the NSW debate”.
NSW Irrigators’ Council chief executive Andrew Gregson said the “overriding factor” that is missing from the government’s strategic land use plan is the AIP.
NSW Minerals council chief executive Stephen Galilee said the new policies would hinder project development for an important rural industry by creating “an additional upfront level of bureaucratic scrutiny that would duplicate what is already part of the standard approval process”.
Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham is “enormously disappointed with the policy”, “there is no red light in the gateway process” and the amount of strategic agricultural land should be extended.
“[Barry O’Farrell] hasn’t recognised the importance of our environmentally sensitive areas such as the Pilliga and Leard State Forest.”
