ANDREW RICKETTS:
It is very clear what Planning Directive No 2 (PD2) means: OPEN SLATHER for the development of infrastructure in Tasmania. All planning approval granted automatically. No public notification, No alerting the public, no opportunity for objection or amendment of a plan or the placing of conditions thereon and it means the state is adopting the power to rewrite local government planning schemes. Amazing.
The issue needs exposure in the mainstream media. The alarm bell needs to be rung.
Every Local government is affected, thus ensuring the matter is brought to their attention is crucial. PD2 removes and diminishes local government power.
Local governments should be encouraged to:
1. Seek competent legal advice
2. Make a Council decision to oppose PD2 via a representation.
3. Insist on a hearing. (A hearing is not compulsory but optional)
Spread the word about this iniquitous regulation. Encourage your friends and associates to make a rational and considered representation against PD2. Ascertain the ways PD2 is against LUPAA’s objectives. Request a hearing be organised by the Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC).
The comment period coincides with local government (LG) elections. Each candidate could be questioned about his or her position on PD2. LG Candidates are announced at noon on the 30th September 2009 (today). This should be a major election issue.
Mike Bolan alludes to the need for a briefing paper. I agree.
There is a need for a range of legal advice assessing the potential avenues of challenge and the legal impacts of PD2.
One could merely criticise small parts of PD2; some deficiencies are very obvious but I argue PD2 is so unfair and unjust that tinkering only entrenches the problem. The ambiguities referred to in the Tas Together dialogue above (together with other problems) suggest PD2 to be a nightmare. PD2 requires complete opposition.
Other TT contributors have suggested other strategies, some short term and some of the longer term. The longer term ones are unlikely to stop this nasty despotic regulation.
Note that at the same time as undefined infrastructure is being given the tick from the OPEN SLATHER Planning Commission (TPC) that same Commission (now in effect a part of Government) is seeking to put in place legislative amendments that provide draconian enforcement powers to enter your home over suspected planning infringements. So, not only are other uses still requiring a planning permit, any breaches can be subject to prosecution and investigation that may entail a Gestapo style enter and search of your private home.
No planning regulation and requirement for one class of development sets a dangerous precedent for other classes of development.
This is bad planning. PD2 enhances the rights of the business-as-usual brigade at the unpalatable expense of the rest of society. It is likely to be supported by the far right.
In a world where resources will inevitably dimish and scarcity increase, the consequence of society’s unsustainability will rebound unrelentingly. The hard decisions are being avoided, shunned and ignored. PD2 is simply a part of that process of unsustainability.
PD2 removes from the community the power to have a say about decisions that fundamentally affect our lives. It is a gross rorting and removal of our democratic rights.
PD2 is an abrogation of Government responsibility for proper planning. PD2 is a piece of laissez-faire driven incompetence. Infrastructure is the foundation of more development. Unfettered, unplanned infrastructure surely leads to unrestrained growth of development.
Stopping PD2 requires the participation of all. Participants need to believe they can win. It is a public interest issue.
If I were a beleaguered landowner along the route of the proposed pipeline to Gunns proposed Pulp Mill I would be seeking high quality legal advice over PD2 from a legal firm without forestry MIS or PTR involvement. The conflict of interest is not immediately apparent esp. for law firms in Launceston. You have to ask.
You will see in the package of legislative amendments on the TPC website that it is also proposing the demise of sustainable development policies which become mere planning policies.
PD2, along with the other legislative changes proposed is a major issue. A cloud of darkness is enveloping Tasmania. Perhaps it will be known in the future as the Bartlett’s Age of Darkness (BAD).
This comment appears at the end of this article, HERE. Comment HERE
Sue Neales, Mercury: A SWEEPING new planning directive for water pipelines has been drafted by the State Government. Quietly advertised in Saturday’s newspapers, the rules would allow the Government to build and install underground irrigation, electricity, broadband and gas pipelines, tubes and cables without the need for additional council permits. Read more here
