Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, took aim at the NSW Government for slurring the City of Wollongong during a fiery debate on new planning laws, which mandate new local planning panels, last night on the floor of the Parliament.

The Environmental Planning and Assessment and Electoral Legislation Amendment (Planning Panels and Enforcement) Bill 2017 have targeted councils in Greater Sydney and Wollongong.

All consent authority powers currently vested in elected councillors within each local government area [LGA] will be removed.  The Government claimed the reason for introducing the Bill was to prevent corruption.

However the Bill did not include provision to ban developers and real estate agents from being appointed to proposed local planning panels, including the chair of panels, who would be appointed by the Minister directly.

NSW Labor moved subsequent amendments to incorporate this ban in the Bill in the Legislative Council, which were unanimously adopted by the Government and minor parties.

Mr Scully told Parliament he would not tolerate any of the members of the Government continuing to slur the City of Wollongong for corruption findings nearly a decade ago.

Mr Scully’s Hansard speech can be found here: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1323879322-98602/link/2225

Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:

“Wollongong has moved on from the decade old corruption scandal, and its time the Liberals did the same.

“I won’t tolerate the continued slur by the Government on the people of Wollongong because of the past actions of individuals who were unceremoniously turfed out of public life and any valuable role in public administration.

“Those individuals have gone from public life and public administration never to return, not ever.

“None of those individuals has placed themselves forward for election on September 9, despite the grubby slur that the Liberal lord mayoral candidate for Wollongong, flanked by the Member for Kiama I might add, attempted to make when launching a bid for Wollongong City Council on Tuesday.”