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Business of the House

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Subjects -  Planning and Development; Traffic; Urban Development
Speakers - Roberts Mr Anthony
Business - Motion


    BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
Page: 3436

    Reordering of General Business

    Mr ANTHONY ROBERTS (Lane Cove) [2.24 p.m.]: I move:

    That General Business Order of the Day (for Bills) No. 6 [Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney Site Protection Bill] have precedence on Thursday 26 October 2006.

    To the people of the Putney area, the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney Site Protection Bill is the most important piece of legislation that has ever been introduced into this Parliament. For the information of members opposite, the Minister for Planning removed from the Ryde City Council the power to determine any application for the redevelopment of the Royal Rehabilitation Centre in Putney. Ryde City Council members and staff obviously were upset, and Putney residents certainly were upset, when they saw what the State Government was prepared to allow for the site—overnight an almost 50 per cent increase in the number of dwellings in the suburb of Putney, a massive increase in the population of the suburb of Putney, and a massive increase in the number of vehicular movements in and out of Putney every day, when even by the Roads and Traffic Authority standards the roads are already 300 per cent above guidelines and capacity.

    This motion is not just about the rights of the people of Putney and Ryde but about the rights of people across the State. The bill relates to the right of people to stand up against massive overdevelopment imposed by the State Government, the right to stand up to the Minister for Planning and say that enough is enough, and the right to determine what happens in their own neighbourhoods. If honourable members vote against allowing the bill to be debated tomorrow, they will be voting against their own constituents. Effectively, honourable members will be saying to their constituents, "If my mate Frank comes along to take over your suburb, you're on your own."

    Just for the record I mention that when the Minister for Planning, Frank Sartor, was confronted by Putney residents about his plans for the site, he referred to them as Putney lunatics and rejected their concerns outright. He was especially nasty to the Mr Rolf Clapham—a great community man who has worked tirelessly with me and the Coalition Against Private Overdevelopment [CAPO] on behalf of Putney residents. It was a cowardly attack on a member of the community that demonstrates how arrogant the Godzilla of planning really is. He is quite happy to trample on the lives and livelihoods of thousands of residents—and the Government just sits there and allows him to do it.

    It is important for the bill to be debated tomorrow because the Government and its Minister for Planning have neglected the people of Putney, and 3,000 residents are waiting on the edge of their seats for the bill to be passed by this Parliament; 3,000 residents are waiting to see whether the Government has the guts to say to the people of Putney, "Yes, this bill is important. You are important, and this bill will be debated."; 3,000 residents are waiting for the Minister for Planning to take them seriously; 3,000 residents of Putney are waiting to see if the Minister for Planning can be bothered to even acknowledge their distress and anger.

    The Minister for Planning has sat by while thousands of residents protested against his plans for the Royal Rehabilitation Centre. He has ignored their protests and letters, speeches in this Parliament, newspaper reports, radio reports, and the bill. I call upon every honourable member of this House to stand up for the rights of residents of their electorates to have a say in their own future. The people of Putney and New South Wales deserve better treatment; the people of Putney and New South Wales deserve the attention of the Minister for Planning; the people of Putney and New South Wales certainly deserve more than an apology for the Minister's attitude so far. [Time expired.]

    Question—That the motion be agreed to—put.

    The House divided.
    Ayes, 30
            Mr Aplin
            Mr Armstrong
            Ms Berejiklian
            Mr Cansdell
            Mr Constance
            Mr Debnam
            Mr Fraser
            Mrs Hancock
            Mr Hartcher
            Mr Hazzard
            Ms Hodgkinson            		Mrs Hopwood
            Mr Humpherson
            Mr Kerr
            Mr Merton
            Mr O'Farrell
            Mr Page
            Mr Piccoli
            Mr Richardson
            Mr Roberts
            Ms Seaton
            Mrs Skinner            		Mr Slack-Smith
            Mr Souris
            Mr Stoner
            Mr Tink
            Mr J. H. Turner
            Mr R. W. Turner

            Tellers,
            Mr George
            Mr Maguire

    Noes, 60
            Ms Allan
            Mr Amery
            Ms Andrews
            Mr Barr
            Mr Bartlett
            Ms Beamer
            Mr Black
            Mr Brown
            Ms Burney
            Mr Campbell
            Mr Chaytor
            Mr Collier
            Mr Corrigan
            Mr Crittenden
            Mr Daley
            Ms D'Amore
            Mr Debus
            Mr Draper
            Mrs Fardell
            Ms Gadiel
            Mr Gaudry            		Mr Gibson
            Mr Greene
            Ms Hay
            Mr Hickey
            Mr Hunter
            Mr Iemma
            Ms Judge
            Ms Keneally
            Mr Lynch
            Mr McLeay
            Mr McTaggart
            Ms Meagher
            Ms Megarrity
            Mr Mills
            Ms Moore
            Mr Morris
            Mr Newell
            Ms Nori
            Mr Oakeshott
            Mr Orkopoulos
            Mrs Paluzzano            		Mr Pearce
            Mrs Perry
            Mr Price
            Mr Pringle
            Ms Saliba
            Mr Sartor
            Mr Scully
            Mr Shearan
            Mr Stewart
            Ms Tebbutt
            Mr Torbay
            Mr Tripodi
            Mr Watkins
            Mr West
            Mr Whan
            Mr Yeadon

            Tellers,
            Mr Ashton
            Mr Martin

    Question resolved in the negative.

    Motion negatived.


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