Liverpool in the Media

SMH Sat 21-10-23

Local councils are taking up to nine and a half months to assess development applications, blowing out times for renovations and small residential builds.

The housing industry says the delays are increasing building and labour costs, adding unnecessary levels of red tape and putting further pressure on a market that is already failing to meet targets.

Data from the state government shows that NSW councils are taking an average of 111 days to determine DAs since July, compared to 107 days in 2022-23 and 83 days in 2021-22.

Many Sydney councils take far longer to assess the DAs for home building and renovations, with Liverpool taking an average of 280 days to scrutinise building plans in 2022-23, followed by Sutherland Shire at 215 days, Hunters Hill at 212 and Georges River at 201 days.

The blowout in wait times for DAs occurred despite the number of building plans submitted to NSW councils falling from 81,158 in 2021-22 to 64,980 in 2022-23.

A Planning Department spokeswoman said the data showed local councils need to improve their performance in the processing of DAs.

“The Department is looking at a range of measures to deliver more homes,” she said. “Speeding up the assessment times is part of this.”

The spokeswoman said measures included the state government sending planners to help councils cut wait times, reducing red tape and investing in artificial intelligence to improve planning processes.

But Darriea Turley, president of Local Government NSW, the peak body for NSW councils, blamed the delays on builders and government agencies.

She said the state government’s mandatory planning portal was inadequate, with councils and developers forced to hire additional staff to provide information about planning processes.

DA refusals were slightly higher in some council areas often because developers submitted proposals that breached local planning rules, she said.

“We know that delays are often the result of the time taken by applicants or government agencies to respond to requests for necessary information,” she said.

Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW chief executive Steve Mann said slow assessment of DA’s and high rates of refusal negatively impacted housing supply.

“A simpler, quicker and more efficient assessment process, especially for applications for housing, must be a priority for government,” he said.

Mann said the state government should take a greater role in planning processes by intervening to assess significant projects, expanding the fast-tracking of compliant applications or offering more support to local councils.

“They also need to be prepared to step in where council performance is lacking,” he said. “There needs to be a cultural shift in NSW from a system that seeks a reason to block an application to one that seeks to find a pathway for approval.”

The Housing Industry Association also wants reforms to the planning system, including centralising DA assessments and outsourcing of DA’s to private planning consultants.

Housing Industry Association NSW executive director David Bare said DAs also required scrutiny from other experts such as engineers and arborists, which can cause further delays if those areas are also understaffed.

Bare said the cost of financing, building materials and labour can increase while waiting for a DA approval.

A Liverpool Council spokeswoman said local councils and the private sector were struggling to recruit experienced planners during a national skills shortage.

“In targeting and resourcing development assessments council initially increased focus on older more complex applications resulting in the increase in average assessment times and increase in refusals,” she said.

A Mosman Council spokeswoman said a significant proportion of the north shore suburb was in a scenic protection or heritage conservation area.

“Stricter compliance with planning controls is necessary in these areas to ensure the amenity of the locality is preserved and enhanced,” she said.

Liberal planning spokesman Scott Farlow said “clearly and simply” it was taking too long for DA’s to be assessed in NSW and particularly in Sydney.

Farlow said the Minns government had failed to “put anything meaningful on the table” to help local councils hire more planners.

NSW Premier Chris Minns warned local councils last month he will turn to the “nuclear option” if the state’s housing targets are not met.

The Planning Department spokeswoman said the state government had powers to enact reform and pursue housing targets, which do not require legislative changes to planning laws.

2GB Mon 23-10-23

The martial Arts World Cup is being held in Sydney's south west this weekend. The Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool will play host to the biggest mixed martial arts tournament Australia has ever seen. International Sport Karate Association chairman Paul Zadro says the action is set to be intense.

We have 1400 competitors coming in over the three days. There are 11 countries represented, there's 20 federations here, so we have everything from taekwondo to Brazilian jiu jitsu to Nogi grappling there, all the normal point fighting forms. Carter weapons, all those events will be going on as well.

THE ARTS HUB Tuesday 24-10-23

The Blake Prize is run and operated by Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (CPAC). It challenges artists to create significant works of art exploring diverse expressions of spiritual and religious imaginations through contemporary art. The Blake Prize welcomes entries from all artforms, and from artists residing locally and internationally.

Since 1951, the Blake Prize has engaged artists, nationally and internationally, with ideas of spirituality and religion. The prize takes its name from William Blake, the world-famous 18th Century artist and poet who threaded the religious and artistic throughout his practice.

Building on this history, the 68th Blake Prize continues to encourage contemporary artists of varied styles and religious and spiritual allegiances to create significant works of art, which engage in conversations and negotiations concerning spirituality, religion and/or belief.

CPAC is guided by the history of the Blake Prize in offering a challenge to artists and poets to explore culturally diverse expressions of the spiritual and religious imagination through the contemporary arts.

CPAC has proudly presented the Blake Prize as a biennial event since 2016, ensuring the future of this landmark prize. CPAC is ideally positioned in Liverpool, a community of people from over 150 different birthplaces, speaking over 140 languages, and with an equally diverse range of faith backgrounds. We are committed to supporting emerging and established artists to create work that reflect Australian communities.

Entries for the 68th Blake Prize will close at 9:00 AM on 18 December 2023. The finalists will be exhibited in May 2024 at CPAC. A three-person external judging panel will select the finalists and the winner of The Blake Prize ($35,000 non-acquisitive), The Blake Emerging Artist Prize ($6,000 acquisitive) and The Blake Established Artist Residency and Exhibition.

Entries for The Blake Poetry Prize close at 9:00 AM on 18 December 2023. The Blake Poetry Prize ($5,000) challenges Australian poets to explore spirituality, religion, and/or belief in a new work of 100 lines or less. For more information about the Blake Poetry Prize please CLICK HERE.

2GB 25-10-23

Now, development application wait times are blowing out to record lengths, and it's proving to be a nightmare for people trying to build a home or change a home. And it's even starting to affect the dead work in cemeteries such as building new walls for boxes of ashes are being impacted by delays on average, they're now being delayed up to 90 days.

That's despite there being no neighbours to worry about, apart from other people who are deceased and in a box next to the person who has just been cremated. Councils typically find no issues with this kind of work, but still they've got to go through the process. Well, thankfully some common sense is being applied. DA's relating to minor work in cemeteries will now be removed from the current system where they require a full DA. Instead, they'll be added to a new fast track system.

So according to The Daily Telegraph, that means they can be undertaken without a DA or if need be approved through a fast track assessment by the council. And we know that councils are struggling to keep up because on average New South Wales councils are now taking 111 days to review a DA. It's up nearly 30 days from two years ago. Liverpool Council is the worst offender, taking an average of 280 days to scrutinise development plans. Sutherland Shire and Georges River Council also have lengthy waits.

Both councils taking more than 200 days on average. And on the cemeteries. The Planning Minister Paul Scully says it seems you can be dead and still waiting for your DA to be assessed and approved.