There should be an immediate moratorium on all development approvals under the controversial Part 3A of the Environment Planning and Assessment Act until the donations scandal is fully investigated, the state’s peak environment group said today.
“Minister Sartor should not approve any Part 3A developments until the link between political donations and political favours is cleared up,” Cate Faehrmann, executive director of the Nature Conservation Council said today.
“Once an area is bulldozed for development the damage to the environment is done. We need to stop any further damage by freezing all development applications currently awaiting Minister Sartor’s approval.
“The controversial Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act concentrates all power for development approvals in the hands of the Minister. The system is open to influence from developers because there are no checks and balances on approvals.
“Even the developers are saying they use political donations to buy influence. Many of these donors have had projects approved that have done immeasurable damage to the biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems up and down the NSW coast.
“There are fragile areas up and down the coast of NSW that once lost will be lost forever. NSW’s endangered plants and animals are being traded off to boost the Labor Party’s coffers with developer donations to fund their next election campaign,” Ms Faehrmann said.
