Job Creation

]
Mr KERRY HICKEY: My question is directed to the Minister for Planning. What action is the Government taking to streamline planning to create jobs? Are there any alternative policies?

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: Last Monday the New South Wales Opposition said that infrastructure programs were being delivered too slowly and that they would bring in Max the Axe to speed them up. Then the next day, on Tuesday, the Opposition said that I am approving infrastructure projects too quickly and that I should slow down.

Mr Brad Hazzard: Point of order: I never said you were doing it too quickly; I said you are doing it corruptly and rottenly with the money that has been paid to the Labor Party.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wakehurst will resume his seat. I placed him on three calls to order only a few moments ago. This is his final warning.

Mr John Aquilina: Point of order: The member for Wakehurst referred to the Minister as acting corruptly. That is unparliamentary and I ask him to withdraw the comment.

Mr Barry O'Farrell: To the point of order: In September 2007 the Independent Commission Against Corruption identified the corruption risks in any Minister for Planning personally approving development applications from donors to any political party.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Mr John Aquilina: To the point of order: I ask that the point of order be upheld. It is not a matter for debate.

The SPEAKER: Order! On previous occasions when a member has sought that a matter be retracted I have put that to the member who made the remark. I ask the member for Wakehurst to retract the comment.

Mr Brad Hazzard: I withdraw, Mr Speaker.

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: This flip-flop approach by the Opposition—does Barry talk to Brad, does Brad talk to Barry—demonstrates that the Opposition has no policy direction on planning, no idea how things are delivered and no understanding of how things get done.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: I make no apology for efficient decisions that deliver jobs and economic investment to New South Wales. The Premier noted yesterday, and again today, that since September we have approved about 60 projects—he said today that it is actually 61 projects—creating $8.4 billion of capital investment and 19,000 jobs. I can update the House with the latest figures as of this morning.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Murrumbidgee to order for the third time.

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: As of this morning there have been 64 part 3A approvals worth $9 billion, creating over 20,000 jobs. In the context of the global financial crisis, this is precisely the type of action we need to create jobs and economic investment in this State.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Blacktown to order.

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: Part 3A is, of course, the section of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act that allows the Government to use a streamlined planning approval process to support projects that are important to the State's economy and development.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Hawkesbury will cease interjecting.

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: In contrast, the Opposition has promised to abolish part 3A, and those uninformed, uneducated calls from the Opposition to abolish part 3A are raising alarms in the investment community.

The SPEAKER: Order! I direct the Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms to remove the member for Wakehurst. I remind all members that continuous interjections will not be tolerated. A number of members are on three calls to order.

[The member for Wakehurst left the Chamber, accompanied by the Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms.]

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: The Opposition policy has been a cause for alarm from industry groups and investors. In a recent letter to the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald on 26 February 2009 the New South Wales Minerals Council stated that part 3A is an effective reform to the New South Wales planning and assessment regime. The Minerals Council says that we have set a cracking pace and we are taking decisive action to free up the wheels of government. The Minerals Council says that is precisely what is needed to shield New South Wales from the worst effects of the economic crisis. In a media release the Urban Task Force pointed out the obvious fact—a fact that is obvious to everyone except the Opposition—that one cannot fast-track project delivery times at the same time as promising to abolish part 3A. The media release stated:

We're particularly concerned at their plans to remove the State government's authority to fast-track regionally significant commercial, industrial, retail and residential development.

The Executive Director of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, Ms Patricia Forsythe, stated:

Part 3A has proved to be a critical planning instrument which overcomes red tape to generate economic activity and investment.

It is worth noting that, as the New South Wales Opposition promises it is going to abolish part 3A, the Victorian Government has announced that it is going to introduce a system similar to that in part 3A into its planning process. Without part 3A we would still be waiting for major infrastructure projects, such as the $257 million redevelopment—
The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition is continually interjecting during this question time. It does not reflect well on him and he should cease doing so. The Minister has the call.

[Interruption]

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will cease interjecting.

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: It is the member for Manly who wants to be the Leader of the Opposition, not I. Without part 3A we would still be waiting for major infrastructure projects such as the $257 million redevelopment of Liverpool Hospital, the $464 million upgrade of a 25-kilometre section of the Pacific Highway north of Coffs Harbour, or the New South Wales section of the $850 million Queensland to Hunter gas pipeline. I note that the member for Upper Hunter welcomed that announcement.

The Government is getting on with the job and proactively making distinctions that will help stimulate investment and infrastructure in New South Wales. We unlocked the expertise of the Growth Centres Commission, bringing it together with the Department of Planning to refocus it on land release, urban renewal and major development assessment. We have introduced project managers—those "go to" people the Premier spoke about yesterday—to ensure that projects are delivered, that problems are resolved, and that there is a single point of contact for proponents and the broader community.

The Opposition has always failed to understand the role of the Planning Assessment Commission. Under laws brought in by the former Minister, Frank Sartor, signed by me, we have depoliticised the planning process by appointing a clear delegation of decision-making authority, so that when a proponent has a declared political donation their proposal is decided by the Planning Assessment Commission, which stands in the shoes of the Minister. I have not heard the Opposition welcome that, and I have not heard it make comment on it. The Opposition has consistently misunderstood it.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will cease interjecting.

Ms KRISTINA KENEALLY: Our goal is to have the best planning system in Australia—one that supports economic investment and jobs, one that supports sustainable development and protects the environment, one that is open and transparent, and one that plans for and supports our future population growth. Meanwhile, the Opposition wants to axe jobs, axe legislation that facilitates growth, axe the ability to stimulate the economy, and axe common sense. That demonstrates the Opposition's lack of consistent policy direction and understanding of what is required to deliver. It shows why the Opposition cannot be trusted with the planning system, let alone with economic investment and jobs growth in New South Wales.