Sydney needs to be built on the principles of environmental sustainability – with green spaces, more trees, cooler suburbs, thriving natural ecosystems, walkability and achieving climate action. But now the Minister for Planning, Anthony Roberts, at the behest of the developer lobby, has ditched crucial principles and development rules brought in by his predecessor to make the city greener and healthier for its citizens and net zero ready (see SMH articles below). The climate emergency demands strong and effective action. It’s the most important environmental reform to planning and the future of your city and town, in decades. We can’t let the developers win!
– Minister bows to developers (SMH, 05/04/22)
– Minister scraps plan to consider climate risk (SMH, 22/3/22) – “NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts scrapped a requirement to consider the risks of floods and fires before building new homes only two weeks after it came into effect and while the state was reeling from a deadly environmental disaster.”
– Sydney now at mercy of developers – oped by Jeff Angel (SMH 22/03/22)
– Download Design and Place SEPP Briefing
Send a message to the NSW Premier and Minister for Planning. You can edit the email subject and add/amend the message. Your email will be sent directly to the NSW Premier The Hon. Dominic Perrottet and the Minister for Planning The Hon. Anthony Roberts.
Dear Minister and Premier,
The action by your government to ditch crucial planning principles that would have helped protect Sydney from global warming; created cooler suburbs and more green spaces and tree canopy – is disgraceful. Now at the request of developers, you have dropped the essential Place and Design State Environmental Planning Policy with its detailed requirements to deliver a liveable, net zero city. A liveable and net zero emission city depends on you thinking about the future – where millions of citizens don’t suffer from killer urban heat; biodiversity like Koalas are protected; suburbs, houses and apartment buildings have cooling trees and green spaces; and climate damaging emissions are curtailed. I await your advice that you will reinstate effective rules for houses, apartments, commercial and industrial sites, subdivisions and precincts, showing you care about our current and future environment.
Regards,
(insert your name here)