ROBE GREEN LIGHT AND NEW REGIONAL APPROACH AS O'FARRELL GOVERNMENT KICKS-OFF A 100 DAY ACTION PLAN
The new O'Farrell Government has instituted a 100 Action Day Plan. On Tuesday 5 April, at State Cabinet's first meeting it announced it had decided to dismantle Part 3A of the planning laws, with all new applications to be halted from that day. This was highly relevant to Wagga Wagga where there was one application under Part 3A of vital consequence; the amended application for Riverina Oil and Bio Energy (ROBE).
Part 3A commenced in 2005 and allowed the Minister for Planning to determine planning applications that are of 'regional or state significance', overriding local government control. The directive from the new State Government aims at dealing with the 500 applications backed up in the system.
And Wagga Wagga and ROBE have now seen the fruits of this new approach with the ROBE application now having been approved!
ROBE will be the largest value adding agriculture investment in Australia. Officially launched in September 2009, ROBE will comprise a 500 tonnes per day oilseed crushing and edible oil refining (170,000 tonnes/year) plant at the Bomen Business Park.
Consistent with his election commitment, O'Farrell has brought planning and infrastructure together under one Minister, Brad Hazzard (Wakehurst), who is also Minister Assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW. He has also appointed Andrew Stoner (Oxley), the Nationals leader, as Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Services. So there are two Ministers with responsibility for infrastructure, as well as the Premier.
The Coalition's Regional Development plans propose a $5 billion ‘Restart NSW' fund to invest in essential infrastructure. Under the Coalition's ‘Regional Kick-Start' policy 30 per cent of ‘Restart NSW' projects will be outside Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Seeing cities and towns west of the Dividing Range as well placed for growth, Premier O'Farrell has also announced he will provide grants of $7,000 to individuals and families who move from Sydney to the regions, supporting the Coalition's targeted regional population increase of almost half a million people over the next 25 years.
Mr O'Farrell says the state's population is set to reach nine million in 25 years and to address these population pressures on Sydney the coalition will encourage population growth in regional New South Wales.
The NSW Business Chamber has provided a summary of the Coalition policies (http://www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au). The list below includes the major policies related to regional development, excluding those related to mining.
• Introduce a Regional Relocation Grant of $7,000 to encourage individuals and families to move from Sydney to
regional NSW communities.
• Allocate 30 per cent of the Restart NSW capital fund for regional NSW.
• Target 40 per cent or 40,000 of the new jobs in the Jobs Action Plan ($4,000 payroll tax rebate) to regional NSW.
• Establish an independent section on agricultural sustainability and food security in the new Department of Primary
Industries.
• Commit to a complete review of the Just Terms legislation, in particular, as it applies to property rights.
• Balance the existence of the mining and petroleum sector and agricultural production including...examining options to protect prime agricultural land so that natural gas development exists in a balanced manner so that the commercial activities of both industries are not compromised.
