Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

submission on the Sydney Metro City and South-West, dated July 2015, reflects this failing. When the strategy was announced in October 2015, the Department of Planning and the Environment released no technical reports to back the strategy up. This was quite extraordinary, to say the least.

The urban renewal strategy is a developer's dream: whole suburbs, low-rise and historic in nature, some over 100 years old, face an extensive rezoning for high-rise skyscrapers, all designed to provide patronage for MTR's metro train. The former Canterbury Council, which bears the brunt of the onslaught of the strategy rezonings, agreed to a mayoral minute, dated 12 November 2015. This stated:

1. Council request an urgent meeting with the New South Wales Minister for Planning to discuss council's concerns in relation to the draft Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Strategy Corridor.

2. The minister and the department be advised that

Council opposes the Draft Strategy in its present form

Council request the immediate release of all supporting studies and reports in the department's possession relating to the Strategy

Council again requests that the exhibition period for the Strategy be extended…

The technical reports that the mayoral minute was alluding to were the following: the Arup traffic analysis; AECOM's economic land study; Hill PDA's reassessment of the property market; JBA's planning report. These reports had an embargo placed upon them and were not released online until 4 December 2015. All reports were released except for the JBA planning report, which I understand has still not been released.

It is worth noting that the above companies are all members of the Committee for Sydney. These developments raise many relevant questions. Is it a coincidence that at the time the media were doing various articles on the Prime Minister's wife's alleged conflict of interest these reports were suppressed by the department of planning? Is it a coincidence that 24 hours after the announcement that Mrs Turnbull would become Chief Commissioner for the Greater Sydney Commission that the reports by Arup, AECOM and Hill PDA were released online by the Department of Planning?

Elton Consulting is a member of the Committee for Sydney. This company was engaged by the department of planning to undertake workshops in the various Inner West suburbs affected by the strategy. Elton Consulting has a long history of working for governments to facilitate and drive through controversial projects. This company lodged a submission on behalf of property owners in Sydenham, dated 28 January 2016, as part of the public consultation process, but the submission was submitted under the name of DesignInc. The submission can be seen on the department of planning online submissions register. How extraordinary! Elton Consulting, responsible for community engagement, is representing property interest stakeholders. Community engagement has reached a farcical stage with this urban renewal. How can the public have any confidence in the department of planning and the Greater Sydney Commission to deal with the strategy in a transparent and fair manner considering this web of obscurity?

JBA Planning undertook various aspects of the planning process for the strategy, yet there is no report published online by the department. JBA Planning also represented Australian Turf Club owners of Canterbury Racecourse. JBA made submissions for rezoning on behalf of the Australian Turf Club. The role of Elton Consulting and JBA Planning raises further questions. Is the Prime Minister's wife representing the members of the Committee for Sydney, who are pushing a developer agenda on the Greater Sydney Commission, which is supposed to be at arm's length? What was Mrs Turnbull's knowledge of the alleged suppression of the technical reports for the Sydenham—