The NSW Minister for Housing David Borger, must concede during a visit to Maitland tomorrow, that the State Labor Government’s planning process for Department of Housing developments across the Hunter has been a disaster, says Hunter based MLC Robyn Parker.

The Minister will be visiting at least 2 development sites in Maitland tomorrow, which Robyn Parker says are typical of the problems facing several Department of Housing developments happening across the region.

“The Minister must concede that the planning process for these housing developments, which takes the community out of the process, has been an utter failure,” Robyn Parker says.

“Labor introduced sweeping changes to planning regulations and these changes are supported by our State Labor Members of Parliament. The new planning regulations enable the steamrolling of developments into communities, without going through council. It also means there is very little regard as to whether the developments are actually suited to the neighbourhoods, whether they are appropriate in size and density and whether there is adequate infrastructure to support them. Few neighbouring households are told about the developments, making it difficult for local residents to have their voices heard.

“I first brought this issue to wider attention, when residents approached me from Gillies Street in Rutherford and Flinders Street in East Maitland. Since then, similar problems have developed in other areas of Maitland and right across the Hunter. Local Labor members have received multiple complaints and in the eleventh hour, the Minister is rolling into town to smooth things over. But it was Labor members who supported these changes to the planning process in the first place and they support Labor Government policies.

“The Department of Housing plans to build approximately 200 units in Maitland, many of them in the form of two-storey residential developments. Most of these developments are in areas where the majority of houses are single storey. The first many residents will know about these developments is when the bulldozers appear.

“It’s time Labor admitted that their planning programs are not working and the Minister should commit to putting these developments back on the drawing board. We do need more social housing but nothing is to be gained by overcrowding communities, inappropriate developments and a lack of community consultation.

“The very process shows just how arrogant and out of touch Labor is with the community. After 14 years in Government, Labor still can’t get it right and don’t deserve to be in office.”