NSW parliamentary inquiry calls for changes to housing development legislation

Eurobodalla advocates hope the NSW Government will sit up and listen to the recommendations handed down by a planning inquiry.

A NSW Upper House committee has made 18 recommendations to the government to address climate change within planning legislation.

The recommendations include advice about how to deal with ”zombie DAs” – development approvals made as long ago as 40 years.

The report recommended planning laws be amended to allow councils to revoke old consents in the public interest without compensation, and to increase the physical commencement threshold for a development to go ahead.

Dalmeny resident Sally Christiansen said she welcomed the recognition that the environment has changed rapidly in past decades.

“A lot of these recommendations speak to what we as a community would expect our leaders to look at strategically,” she said.

“There are a lot of examples [of zombie DAs] along the coast, Coila Lake at Tuross Head, Tura Beach near Merimbula and here in Dalmeny, where big developers are trying to put in things that are absolutely bonkers.

“Would you put a retirement village on bushfire- and flood-prone land with one road in and one road out?

“It absolutely doesn’t pass the pub test, but at the moment, local councils don’t have the power to stop them without going broke.”

Eurobodalla Shire Council denies the Tuross Head and Dalmeny developments are ”zombies”.

The parliamentary committee was established in August 2023 and received 247 submissions from concerned community members, groups, and local councils, including the Dalmeny Matters group, of which Ms Christiansen is a member.

In the report, the committee said the historical developments communities often had to face were not consistent with the “current realities of climate change”.

The government is yet to announce whether it will adopt any of the recommendations, however.

NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully said the government acknowledged the report and would consider its findings.

He gave no indication of when the government might announce which recommendations it will adopt.

The government has recently changed planning legislation to make it faster for developers to gain approval for large housing proposals, as the nation grapples with the ongoing housing crisis.

Ms Christiansen acknowledged that meaningful action must be taken to combat the housing crisis, but said building in high-risk areas was not a solution.

“It doesn’t look good in terms of them taking this seriously and making the changes this report says are necessary to protect the community,” she said.

“State planning doesn’t mention climate change, our local council’s housing strategy doesn’t mention climate change and I think it’s something everyone down here would agree is hugely relevant looking to the future.

“It’s bonkers thinking that we put new houses and services and infrastructure where it is not viable anymore.

“It’s a massive responsibility, and it’s communities that pay for it ultimately, but we aren’t considered stakeholders.”