Land and Environment Court - Minority Report


Conclusion


The Associations welcomed the announcement of a review into the role of the Land and Environment Court in reviewing the decisions of councils on development applications. I was particularly pleased to represent Local Government in NSW on the Attorney’s General’s Working Party. A review of the role and operation of the Court was timely, given the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 have been in operation for more than 20 years.

It is with regret, however, that I submit this Minority Report in response to the report of the Land and Environment Court Working Party but I do so because I am very disappointed with the outcomes of the review process for Local Government, local communities and our citizens. I have found the report to be defensive of the Court with criticisms being deflected towards councils and the planning system generally.

The recommendations that have been made by the Working Party are essentially procedural in nature and do not substantially alter the way that decisions of councils are reviewed by the Court. Given that the Court’s power to determine development applications on the merits is being retained, the current problems with the system, namely those proceedings are adversarial, take too long and cost too much, will be perpetuated. I believe this to be in direct contradiction to the original intent of the legislation that gave the Court powers to review the decisions of councils in relation to development applications in the first place. The “Court” in no way deals effectively with the matters de novo in the methodical and transparent manner as a council does. Quite frankly, without proper and substantial reforms, this so-called “Court” should be abandoned and its pretence exposed.

A great opportunity exists for genuine reform if only the entrenched conservatism of the Court is excised and the pecuniary interests of the legal fraternity are replaced by citizen-orientated processes.