Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is not really similar to a precinct committee. It is a process whereby, if somebody has a development application before the council, the council delegates the consideration of that to a panel that consists of a community planner, a lawyer, an architect and a community representative. They sit around the table and work out if there is a way that objections to a development can be overcome and then make a recommendation to the full council. We found in Fairfield council that our legal bills in the Land and Environment Court fell very dramatically. People were much more satisfied. Not only were objectors much more satisfied that they had their case heard but also developers were much more satisfied, because they got a quicker result and they were able to overcome issues without taking them to the Land and Environment Court.

It has been some years since I put my mind to local government, having retired at the last election and not having to think or talk about local government since then, but I did want to take the opportunity to make this brief contribution. I think local government does deserve our support. I support constitutional recognition and a referendum to achieve as much, but I think that it is more important to give resources to local government and provide them with more funds to do the job they do best.

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