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Update – New Planning Minister and Planning Secretary for New South Wales
On 20 December 2021, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet revealed the second Perrottet ministry for the State government. The details of the updated cabinet have been published in a Government Gazette which can be accessed here. This major cabinet reshuffle marks…
LEC Upholds IPC Approval of Narrabri Gas Project as Climate Change Litigation Takes Aim at Gas
Debate about the transition away from fossil fuels has recently focused in on plans for increased gas production, with Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project (Project) being a key feature of the NSW Government’s plans for the future of gas production in…
New Regulations for Infrastructure Contributions Released for Public Consultation
On 28 October 2021, the NSW Government released several documents as part of the infrastructure contributions reform package for public consultation. These documents include: Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Infrastructure Contributions) Regulation 2021 (‘Amendment Regulation‘). Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local…
Clinging to Coal: KEPCO Bylong appeals to High Court after Third Project Refusal
KEPCO Bylong Australia Pty Ltd (KEPCO) will seek special leave to appeal to the High Court following the third refusal of the Bylong Coal Project by the NSW Court of Appeal last month. In this blog, we look at the…
Discussion Paper on the Local Government Tendering Regulation Review
Earlier this month, the Office of Local Government published a discussion paper titled ‘Local Government Tendering Regulation Review‘ (‘Discussion Paper‘) concerning the tendering provisions in Part 7 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 (‘Regulation‘). The Discussion Paper proposes amendments to…
Online Safety Act 2021: Overview and ramifications for public officials
On 23 July 2021, the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) (‘OS Act‘) received Royal Assent from the Governor-General. The OS Act will commence a day to be fixed by Proclamation or the day after the end of the period of 6…
Bill to Reform NSW Development Contributions System Introduced into Parliament
As part of a suite of reforms introduced with the 2021–22 Budget, the NSW Government introduced the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Infrastructure Contributions) Bill 2021 (‘Bill‘) to the Legislative Assembly on 22 June 2021. The Bill proposes to rewrite the…
Discussion Paper – Review of Crown Land Management Act 2016 – Issues for Local Government
Recently, we published an alert (see here) about an opportunity for public input into the independent statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (NSW) (‘CLM Act‘), run by the Crown Land Commissioner, Professor Richard Bush (‘the Commissioner‘). The…
Overview: DPI’s Guide to Biosecurity for Environmental Planners
In recent years, biosecurity has been a salient topic among policymakers and practitioners. The global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the accelerated biodiversity loss attributed to the arrival and spread of new species, have only served to highlight the importance…
ALERT: Independent Statutory Review of Crown Land Management Act 2016
The Crown Land Commissioner, Professor Richard Bush, is undertaking an independent statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (CLM Act) and has published a discussion paper seeking the public’s input into the review. About the statutory review The Commissioner was…
Council Obligations under the Australian Foreign Relations Scheme
Local governments play an important role in Australia’s foreign relations. Indeed, the Australian Local Government Association noted in its submission to a recent Senate inquiry (‘Senate Inquiry‘) that there are at least 37 arrangements between councils and foreign entities, as…
ALERT: New Practice Note on Voluntary Planning Agreements in NSW
On 12 February 2021, the Planning Secretary issued a new Planning Agreements Practice Note (VPA Practice Note). On the same day, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Development Contributions) Regulation 2021 (Amendment Regulation) made a number of amendments to the…
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