Government vs the Public

Commentary on the Hills Shire Council's 2010 draft Local Environmental Plan (LEP) -- the most restrictive ever, and another nail in the coffin of private ownership in Australia.

Although the council's own studies found that 72% of the so-called rural area is being used for residential purposes, the plan ignores this, and instead has produced zone objectives that focus almost exclusively on agriculture - an activity undertaken on a mere 6% of the area.

Then just to make absolutely sure that land cannot be used productively, the plan proposes to apply additional restrictions to most of the area in the name of protecting 'natural resources and biodiversity'.

It's clear that the reason for these restrictions is to maintain Sydney's artificial, government-created shortage of housing land, squandering the benefits of what should be the country's greatest competitive advantages -- plentiful land.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• LEP
• subdivision
• development
• sydney
• city
• fringe
• urban
• consolidation
• environment
• protection
• land
• smart
• growth
• property
• rights
• landowner
• government
• council