Lawlink NSW: APPENDIX - Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW Submission to the Review of the Land and Environment Court (July 2000)

Land and Environment Court - Minority Report

APPENDIX - Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW Submission to the Review of the Land and Environment Court (July 2000)

Introduction

The Local Government & Shires Associations of NSW are the peak organisation for Local Government, representing all 174 councils in NSW.

The Associations welcome the invitation to comment and acknowledge and support the general need to review the legislative basis, which provides for the Land and Environment Court to review decisions relating to development applications. Specifically, the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 are relevant.

In regards to the Terms of Reference for the review, it may be necessary to examine different issues, which arise throughout the review which are not expressly mentioned in the Terms of Reference. An example is that it will be necessary to consider changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 to improve the operation of the Court and to examine the operation of interstate and international review systems.

The Associations’ comments are based on the following broad policy positions:

Local Government should retain autonomy in the making of local planning decisions and accordingly be the primary consent authority.

Appeals to the Land and Environment Court should be restricted to appeals on questions of law.

Local Government should have a lead role in planning for local communities with other spheres of government because councils are:

best placed to inform the planning process of the needs and expectations of local communities
democratically accountable to local communities and
the advocates for their communities to other spheres of government.

The Associations encourage the development of increased opportunities for dispute resolution, for use when appropriate through the employment of alternative dispute resolution techniques.

The following comments are based on the Associations’ policies, feedback and submissions, which have been provided to the Associations by member councils. Attached to this submission is a summary of the Associations’ recommendations.

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most recently updated 20 September 2001