NSW COMMUNITY APPEAL TO PREMIER TO PROTECT THE COAST

Monday, 21 August 2000 10:00

The appeal comes close on the heals of a report by the NSW Coastal Council urging that action be taken to protect the coast and reign in the development industry's cowboys.

It also follows a recent report by the Co-operative Research Centre that has found that half of Australia's coastal waterways are suffering erosion, contamination and changes in waterflow.

There are currently 100s of large-subdivisions, rezoning proposals, and commercial and tourist developments proposed or approved for different regional council areas along the NSW coast. Many are planned in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, headlands, beach fronts and coastal lakes.

In addition, urban strategy settlements are being prepared for future development in these areas, which in some cases are looking at a massive growth in urban development and population over the next 20 years. This will result in further impacts on coastal aquatic and terrestrial systems.

The groups have urged the Premier to revise, tighten and enforce the Government's Coastal Policy which covers coastal areas outside the Greater Sydney zone from Tweed to Port Stephens in the north and Kiama to Bega in the South.

They have also called for the Premier to direct councils to be more accountable to the community, to review old inappropriate LEPs, review lands to assess which ones urgently need removing from development threats by rezoning or acquisition and to consider bringing in a state planning instrument setting clear boundaries for development assessments and approvals.