Botany Bay and Catchment Alliance

Ever been to a smorgasbord where those at the head of the queue pile their plates regardless of how little they leave for those who follow.  This pretty much describes the gouging and gorging behaviour that is being supported and applauded by our NSW State Government.  With the media distracted by APEC, Minister Sartor has given the go-ahead to an Anvil Hill sized coal mine outside of Mudgee as well as the Enfield Intermodal.  More congestion and pollution for an area already suffering overload in both areas….and for what.  Before long one-third of all our so-called trade through Port Botany will be the export of empty containers.  That’s right, the biggest exports from NSW are EMPTY CONTAINERS and COAL.  How sustainable is that?  (more…)

Suggest that Sydney will grow beyond 6 million and hear the collective groan.  Projects such as the Kurnell Desalination plant, Port Botany expansion, Sydney Airport expansion, massive land releases in Western Sydney, truck tunnels, tollways, and infill developments in established suburban Sydney are all part of growing the city bigger to compete with the top ‘Alpha globals’ - London, Paris, New York, Tokyo ( Sydney at present is a ‘Beta Global’).  No one has asked the majority of residents in Sydney, nor NSW for that matter, if they want an ever expanding Sydney.  Talk to the average Sydney resident and the response is Sydney is bursting at the seams - too congested, too polluted.  Why don’t we have a decentralisation policy  you hear them say. 

Decentralisation only works if the government takes leadership and is interested in visionary projects.  Property developers and large construction companies make bigger profits growing Sydney than they would in regional centres.  Regional centres don’t need tollways, tunnels and massive highrise.   Growing Sydney is the easy option and the government has recognised that.  On page 23 of the Metropolitan Strategy(endorsed by the Premier and Minister for Planning) this is what they have to say: (more…)

The Inland Rail has bipartisan support at the federal level but the NSW government would rather Auslink money be spent in Sydney instead of a visionary NATIONAL PROJECT.  The latest AUSLINK report on SYDNEY (April 2007) provides a very useful analysis of current transport issues in Sydney.  Note data quoted from  Halcrow (www.halcrow.com)  

Some background on the Inland Rail:  (more…)

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services has been meeting, accepting submissions, conducting site visits and hearings for over 2 years.  The report makes a number of recommendations and included amongst them are recommendations affecting Port Kembla and Port Newcastle:

Committee Assessment:  3.324 : Almost every port appearing in this Inquiry is having difficulties handling that growth. ….3.325: The Committee believes that the infrastructure projects discussed in this chapter are so important to that task that, that they should be assigned a special priority in funding.  The projects identified for NSW are:

• A multi-purpose terminal in Newcastle
• The Maldon-Dombarton rail link
• The removal or reduction of the curfew restrictions at Port Kembla

The full report can be viewed and/or downloaded at:

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/trs/networks/report.htm 

The Employment Lands for Sydney Action Plan was released in March and particularly affects communities in the Botany Bay Catchment.  This is the Ministerial Taskforce overseeing the implementation of the Plan:

Mr Sam Haddad(DG Dept. Planning); Mr Loftus Harris (DG Dept. State and Regional Development); Mr Ken Morrison(Property Council of Australia); Mr Ross Blancato (Urban Development Institute of Australia); Ms Louise Southall and Mr Paul Orton(Australian Business Ltd); Mr Mark Goodsell(Australian Industry Group); Ms Sue Robinson and Mr Terry Barnes (NSW Urban Task Force); Mr Bob Germaine (Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board); Mr Adam Kerslake (Unions NSW); Mr Kerry Robinson and Mr Graham Dickie (Landcom); Ms Sylvia Hrovatin (Walker Corporation); Mr Bill McCrae (Overmyer Industrial Real Estate); Ms Narelle Kennedy (Australian Business Foundation); Mr Colin Rockliff (Macquarie Goodman); Mr Shaun McBride (NSW Local Government and Shires Association)

Our leaders should be pleased that population growth in Sydney over the 2001-05 period is well below other capital cities and in terms of sheer numbers trails Melbourne and Brisbane.  Brisbane grew 2.2 per cent, Melbourne 1.5 per cent and Perth 1.8 per cent. Sydney’s increase of 0.7 per cent puts it at the bottom of the table, alongside Adelaide. Even Hobart grew 0.8 per cent, according to population figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. (SMH, page 6,25/7/07)

Developments such as the Port Botany expansion, Desalination, Botany Bay Cable, Enfield, South-West and North West conversion of rural land into residential and warehousing have been justified in terms of population growth.  Remember the line that ‘1000 people a week come to Sydney’.  Now the government is trying to stimulate population growth by pushing ahead with these developments.  Would we need more tunnels, freeways, shopping complexes if the population stabilised?  Where would Transurban, Leighton, Westfield and other developers go?   Over the life of the Metrostrategy the lower -real - growth rate translates to around 250,000 fewer people.  The development of Sydney’s South West.  We could keep our farmlands, we could reduce consumption and waste and become a more sustainable city but it appears that our leaders think Sydney needs more growth, more consumption, and therefore more construction.  In the meantime they forget the needs of regional NSW.