Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to register my disgust at the New South Wales government's recent approval, through the state planning authority, of the Scenic Hills cemetery. With the Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, the state government has acted to destroy infrastructure that was given to the people of Macarthur over a generation ago. The Scenic Hills—a green space, a buffer between Sydney and the Macarthur area—was always planned to stay as farming land, as green space, as that buffer. The state government, by completely removing the local council's powers to plan and by giving the planning authority to the state planning authority, has colluded with the Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust and other stakeholders, none of whom live in the area, to destroy this vital piece of Macarthur infrastructure. There will no longer be that green vista, that gave us our lungs, for the residents of Macarthur. It's a disgraceful act—an act of collusion by a state government that takes its orders from property developers and the big end of town. None of these stakeholders actually live in the area, and none of these stakeholders understand the importance of that green vista. It was a terrible act—an act of vandalism and environmental destruction. I condemn the New South Wales state government for this cowardly and disastrous act.