Deliver a planning system that protects the environment and our communities

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I write to urge you to fulfil your election promise by delivering a planning system that protects the environment and puts the community back into planning.

Recent attacks on our environment and planning laws at both the federal and state level are unprovoked and unwarranted.

Federal environmental law plays an important role in protecting threatened species and iconic natural areas like the Great Barrier Reef and the Blue Mountains, which are valued and cherished by all Australians. Our state planning laws play an important role in ensuring that future development in NSW is carried out sustainably and within the physical capacity of the environment.

I am deeply concerned by calls from the development industry to remove environmental protection provisions and public participation rights from the NSW planning system.

I strongly oppose the weakening of our environment and planning legislation and urge you to show strong leadership by delivering a planning system that:

Protects our natural environment and ensures that development improves or maintains environmental outcomes.
Guarantees genuine and meaningful public participation. The public should have the right to comment on significant development proposals that will impact on the environment and local communities.
Ensures that decision makers are accountable. Planning decisions must be made through open and transparent processes that reduce the potential for systemic corruption.

Without such protection our natural environment - our bushland, coasts, forests and rivers - are under threat. Our health and well-being is at risk if development, particularly development with the potential to pollute our land, air and water, is allowed to be carried out without robust environmental assessment and regulation.

A planning system that does not protect our environment and denies the public the right to participate in decisions that affect their communities will be deeply unpopular.

Yours sincerely,

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Our environmental laws are under attack.

Right now, developers and mining companies are lobbying to weaken essential environmental protections and public participation rights in the planning system in order to get fast-tracked development approvals.

The natural environment - our bushland, coasts, forests and rivers – is under very real threat. Long term strategic planning and robust environmental assessment is needed to keep our air and water clean and safe, and protect the health and well being of local communities.

In recent weeks, Government has lent its support to developer initiated proposals for land release areas, raising concerns about their commitment to long term strategic planning.

Will the Government deliver on its election promise to protect the environment and put the community back into planning? Or will the Government side step strategic planning processes and make deals with developers at the expense of our environment and our communities?

Unless people like you and I stand up to defend hard won environmental protections and community rights we may see developers and mining companies get their way. We need to take action to ensure that the Government delivers on its election promise to protect the environment and put the community back into planning.

Take action – Tell the Premier Barry O'Farrell and Planning Minister Brad Hazzard to enact a planning system that protects our environment and our communities.

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