Mayor’s View – 24th July, 2008
The deadline for submissions to the state government on the Draft 2025 Regional Plan is fast approaching. If you have issues with it you will need to respond by 8th August.
In theory I support the concept of regional plans. We have all heard of inappropriate developments approved by compliant councils. However I am personally concerned with some of the detail in the Far Northern Plan, particularly the threat, as I see it, to our northern life style.
Planning is a complex issue. It is now and will be in the future a mine field to negotiate, and residents need to understand that planning and development decisions are not quickly or easily able to be influenced by council.
At the present time we have two separate Planning Schemes:
The Johnstone Shire Scheme, introduced in 2005, which would, pre amalgamation, have had a life of 7 or 8 years. It defines the various precincts of Innisfail, has a different code covering the villages of the area – Mena Creek, South Johnstone, Wangan etc and a separate code again for north Mission Beach.
The Cardwell Shire Scheme, commenced in 2007, would also have run for 7 or 8 years. This scheme covers the townships of Tully and Cardwell and the villages of Feluga, Euramo, Kennedy etc. Tully Heads / Hull Heads have a separate code, as do South Mission Beach / Wongaling Beach. The applicable plans for the north and south Mission Beach areas are different.
In the old Cardwell Shire area some residents may also have the option of having a development assessed under another superseded planning scheme, until 2009, if certain conditions are met.
The process of amalgamating the planning schemes won’t even be able to start until the statutory 2025 Plan is finalised in December 2008. There is also the Priority Infrastructure Plan (PIP), currently being developed, concluding in mid 2009. This PIP will identify service needs such as sewerage, water and open space across the whole Cassowary Coast Region.
Work on the actual details of what is to be allowed under the new plans and bringing these to fruition will then take an absolute minimum of 2 years, beginning with lines on a map. Then there will need to be consideration of any compensation issues (eg. taking away existing rights), public notifications, council decisions, state government referrals, changes advised, further public notifications, further council decisions – then, finally, state government sign off.
All this will be occurring across dozens of local government and amalgamated regions simultaneously – a huge workload for government.
In the meantime the existing plans apply, and there are of course literally hundreds of decisions already made by council which can take up to 6 years to be acted upon. So there can be outcomes from planning decisions taking effect for many years after a council takes a change of direction. Such council decisions can also have compensation consequences, as noted above.
So far I have referred to local and state government influences. The federal government can also override planning decisions if there are threats to the Great Barrier Reef or to endangered species, such as the cassowary.
A mine field indeed!