Reconstitute the Coastal Council

Thursday, 23 November 2006

Greens successfully move motion to reconstitute coastal council

A motion to reconstitute the NSW Coastal Council moved by NSW Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen passed the NSW Legislative Council without dissent this afternoon.

“I attended the annual Coastal Conference in Coffs Harbour recently, which unanimously passed a motion calling for the Coastal Council’s reconstitution,” said Mr Cohen.

“It was pleasing to see the same level of support for a similar motion in the Upper House of the NSW Parliament.

“The Coastal Council was an independent statutory body under the chairmanship of Professor Bruce Thom. It provided fearless expert advice to Government and played a vital role in pinpointing inappropriate coastal development.

“Members of the Coastal Council also made community consultation a priority. Not only did they listen to community concerns, but their objective expertise also helped keep people informed.

“It was disbanded by the NSW Government in 2003. The unseemly rush to further increase the planning minister’s capacity to ride roughshod over community and environmental concerns has continued unabated since then.

“The Coastal Council’s role is therefore more important than ever. It has traditionally provided advice to the minister and/or local councils on any potential development. It also used to provide an annual report to parliament on the implementation of coastal policy.

“It will take an act of parliament to make the reconstitution of the Coastal Council a reality, but the bipartisan support for this motion is an important first step,” Mr Cohen concluded.