The Weekly Times - TWT - 27th March 2019

18 THE WEEKLY TIMES Wednesday 27 March, 2019
Meriton launches legal action against
Premier Berejiklian and govt agencies
AUSTRALIA’S largest residential developer, Meriton, is taking legal action
against the NSW Premier and other government agencies over preelection
interference with its planning proposal for 112 Talavera Road,
Macquarie Park.
Meriton is seeking a
declaration and orders
to compel the NSW Department
of Planning to
undertake its public duty
and make a Local Environmental
Plan increasing
the floor space ratio and
height control applicable
to its site under the government’s
own planning
policies.
While Premier Gladys
Berejiklian has responded
by calling on Meriton to
“bring it on” and characterising
her role as
defender of Ryde’s residents
against a billionaire
developer, there are
legitimate questions to
be answered over alleged
political interference with
the process.
Meriton, established
more than 55 years ago in
TWT Territory, has met the
requirements of a process
mandated by the NSW
Liberal Government and
its agencies, spanning
several years and compliant
with the applicable
Greater Sydney Commission
(GSC) regional plan.
Meriton believes recent
measures by the Premier
appeared driven by state
election campaigning,
disregarding extensive
community consultation,
planning processes and
approval of Meriton’s proposal
by the GSC under
its relevant regional plan
last March.
“Meriton’s proposal has
already been approved
by the government’s bodies,”
Meriton chief Harry
Triguboff AO said in a
statement.
“It has been recognised
as being entirely consistent
with all of the government’s
publicly stated
planning strategies and
policies.
“Those policies should
not suddenly change because
the seat of Ryde
is in contention at the
upcoming election. They
can’t move the goalposts
like that. These developments
take years to plan
and build.”
He said the building
and construction indus-try
needed certainty “the rules
at the start of the process
are going to be the same at
the end”.
A Summons was filed
this month in the Land
and Environment Court
of NSW against four respondents
- the Premier of
NSW; the Minister for
Planning; Secretary for
the Department of Planning
& Environment and
the Greater Sydney Commission.
Questions over “assurance
review” concept
“An issue in the case will
be the function of an
‘assurance report’ ordered
by the Premier in
late-2018 and whether
that review can have any
impact on a planning proposal
as well-advanced
as Meriton’s,” the company’s
general counsel,
Joseph Callaghan, said.
“Meriton’s planning proposal
was lodged in May
2017 and had already
been endorsed by the
Department of Planning
on behalf of the Greater
Sydney Commission before
the Premier secured
the Planning Legislation
Amendment (Greater
Sydney Commission) Act
2018.”
The amendment introduced
the concept of an
“assurance report” for
the first time, in this case a
review of Macquarie
Park’s development plans
within the “Macquarie
Park investigation area”,
according to GSC advertisements
to announce
community consultation
plans.
The “assurance review”
was introduced after the
October amendment effectively
enabled changes
to be made to the GSC’s
finalised regional plans
and allowed her to assume
the role of Minis-
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ter with oversight for the
GSC.
Ryde MP Victor
Dominello’s - standing
for re-election this weekend
- called for an urgent
review of Macquarie Park
planning after campaigning
against Meriton’s
plans for several months,
with Premier Berejiklian
swiftly responding by ordering
a review and oneyear
development freeze.
An investigation by The
Weekly Times found the
“Macquarie Park Investigation
Area” excluded
the site for Meriton’s proposed
development.
Despite this, Mr
Triguboff said an inter-im
report released last
week by the GSC not
only agreed to continue
a freeze on new proposals
in the area but also a
retrospective “pause” on
existing proposals for 12
months, for more studies.
“It should not be the
case on proposals like
ours which is so far advanced
based on existing
policies,” he said.
“There is $78 million
worth of community
benefits wrapped up in
this deal - 27 affordable
housing units so that essential
workers can live in
the area, cash for roads,
parks and sporting facilities.
“Not to mention GST,
stamp duty and employment
taxes all generated
by the development.”
Months of campaigning
against Meriton’s plans,
led by Mr Dominello resulted
in 380 objections
to the original proposal of
up to 63 storeys, reduced
in response to 42 storeys,
none from affected residential
neighbours due to
the site for the proposed
development.
In
comparison,
there was a reported
60,000-strong petition of
objectors to a recent controversy
over al proposal
to demolish Macquarie
Ice Rink.
Urban Taskforce Australia
CEO Chris Johnson
said Meriton’s legal action
demonstrated what
a mess Sydney’s planning
system was in.
“The legal action is over
a planning proposal by
Meriton that has been
caught up in an ‘assurance
report’ written by
the Greater Sydney Commission
and publically
released by the Local
Member for Ryde, Victor
Dominello,” Mr Johnson
said.
“It seems that the Department
of Planning
and Environment had endorsed
the Meriton planning
proposal on behalf
of the Greater Sydney
Commission before new
legislation introduced the
concept of an ‘assurance
report’.”
“The Urban Taskforce
has been very critical of
the assurance report for
Ryde produced by the
Greater Sydney Commission.”
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He said the report
claimed that housing
completions were ‘unprecedented
and unanticipated’,
but at 1,500 a
year over the last three
years they were right on
the GSC’s target of 7,600
over
five years.
“The use of the assurance
report in the middle
of a state election, and
the fact that it has only
been released by the local
Member of Parliament,
gives the impression that
emotive pre-election logic
is winning over rational
planning rules,” Mr Johnson
said.
“The Urban Taskforce
believes the use of Assurance
Reviews needs to
be put on hold until a full
understanding of what
happened in Ryde during
the state election is fully
understood.”
Urban Development Institute
of Australia NSW
CEO, Steve Mann, has
called for certainty to underpin
principles for planning
decision making.
“Building our city takes
many years and can only
be achieved with a stable
and predictable regulatory
environment,” Mr
Mann said.
“The Department of
Planning has labelled
2019, the Year of Consultation,
following 2018,
the Year of Communication.
“However, The Ryde
Assurance Review, Environmental
Planning and
Assessment Amendment
(Contributions
Plans) Regulation 2019,
and continued ambiguity
about the status of Interim
Occupation Certificates
have all contributed
to increasing uncertainty
across the industry.”
He said insufficient consultation
has led to unfair,
retrospective legislation
that is damaging housing
affordability.
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