Will Robertson

The NSW government recently announced a strategy that will greatly increase the population in NSW and along the coast. This plan lacks principles and research.

An inspection of the Draft Mid North Coast Regional Strategy shows it also lacks general principles. Rather it “aims to provide 58,4000 houses … 47,000 jobs”. It encourages growth without “General Principles” or scientific data to evaluate the limits set.

Growth and development need strong financial and regulatory restraints to improve the quality of life for all in the community and the environment.

The NSW Act for Development needs to be revised to state all development should be below ecologically sustainable limits set by scientific research. Further the Act should include ‘General Principles’ and stipulate that all developments do not add to pollution nor have a negative impact on quality of life of people and the environment.

I also have concerns about the Report’s desire for highrise buildings. Commercial and industrial developments should meet higher standards than home dwellings since they have greater impact on people and the environment.

Multi-storey and high-rise developments radically change the local environment by creating wind canyons, blocking sunlight and increasing the density of people in a space. Consequently these environmental changes should be eliminated by design to meet building needs and to reduce pollution through such requirements as:

• wind baffles on multi & high-rise sides / roof for wind power generators;
• mirror reflectors for sunlight into shaded areas;
• solar power generators on northern side/roof areas;
• rain water collection tanks with filter systems;
• recycling gray-water systems for washing / garden and toilet cistern;
• bio-cycle garden and recycle wastes collections.
• wider footpaths with appropriate plants/trees;
• roads, public transport, & off-street parking for increased population.

Although the Regional Strategy refers to BASIX and protection of the environment, it does not show how population increases are within sustainable limits. Given climate and ecological changes, how does the NSW Government and Planning justify these proposals?

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Draft General Principles to assist evaluation of planning proposals for new developments:

1. All planning must recognize that: as the essentials for life are finite and the earth’s resources are limited; there are definite limits to population growth and development.
2. Limits to population growth and development are also set by a changing ecology [relations between organisms and their environment] reacting to people and earth’s processes, geological, meteorological etc.
3. Thus the results of developments should be ecologically sustainable.
4. Developments should improve the quality of life of people and environment
5. As quality of life depends on health: developments should improve the health of people, their community and the natural environment by reducing pollution.
6. Quality of life also depends on social and economic well-being, thus developments should improve the economic welfare of all within a community and have a viable economic future.
7. Developments place added burdens on existing infrastructure of a place [i.e. essential water, power, roads, drainage, wastes etc]. Thus developers should fund all improvements to infrastructure needed by their development.
8. Increased consumption of water, electrical power etc should be within sustainable limits and the additional capacity needed by a development should be provided by the developer and under sustainable limits for a place.
9. Development, which proposes to exploit an area, should not be approved unless the area can be ecologically improved, public access to any foreshore is improved; new & existing activities have a sustainable future and it benefits the whole community.
10. Developments, which segregate communities and degrade the quality of life of people and environment should not be approved.

My vote will be for policies based on these principles and the party which endorses sustainable ecological limits and has the courage to implement limits in practice.