Ms BURNET – Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 226, I move –
That the bill be laid aside.
CHAIR – Do you want to speak to the motion?
Ms BURNET – In speaking to this motion and the reasons for moving the Standing Order, I think we have before us a very controversial development spot rezoning, if you like. The Stony Rise development concerns that we had were raised in this place, and certainly there were concerns raised in the other place in relation to this bill. In speaking to it, this bill has been – as a result of some serious concerns about process but also lack of response to running strategic planning from the state government.
In relation to this application, the application was put to the council, it was approved, it went to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission, based on poor strategic planning and, unfortunately, the state government not keeping up with strategic planning in that the strategic land use strategy was well out‑of‑date. This has been a litany of disasters and certainly a concern. The Greens are of the opinion that this is not suitable to be endorsed by this parliament.
You might remember from the debate previously that the land use strategy was well out‑of‑date and, no matter how suitable or unsuitable the application might have been before the council and before the Planning Commission, it was considered unsuitable. Since that time, we have heard and read in the papers this morning, or read online, the concerns about political donations to the Liberal Party, who are in government at this time, and whether that has had some sort of influence in this decision‑making, or not.
This motion has been put forward because we are very concerned about this process and how this has occurred. It is something that we feel that, whether it’s Stony Rise in the north‑west, whether it was another application somewhere else, this is not the way that there should be this ministerial interference, this stepping up to ram through proposals that may or may not be suitable.
It does not matter how suitable it is, but what we have seen is a perversion in how this should be prosecuted and how a planning system should be working. We have one development application, now, a spot rezoned by both Houses of Parliament. The Greens are very concerned about this, and that is why this has been moved today.
