The Integrated Planning Act passed last year, to be promulgated today, will not give Councils, the State government and the public the time to properly assess impacts of development.

The State Government’s failure to specify clear environmental standards and outcomes will lead to widespread and rapid environment degradation with air, water and soil pollution set to soar.

Coastal areas, vegetation and wildlife will be left to the mercy of market forces and fast-tracked development with minimal controls.

The State Government must as a start:

• Include the habitats designated under the Nature Conservation Act in Schedule 8 (Assessable development)
• No changing Impact Assessment to Code Assessment without public notification and appeal
• Increase public comment on Impact Assessment from 20 to a minimum of 30 working days
• Allow public notification and appeals on Level 1 Pollution Licenses and incentive licenses
• Guarantee public notification and comment on Codes of Practice
• Allow "free" reviews of town plan for matters of public interest, petition initiated
• Recognise and protect regional habitat areas and landbridges as state infrastructure.

Remember – under the current Integrated Planning Act 1997:

• A town plan can prohibit nothing
• A town planning policy can regulate nothing
• Developers don’t have to provide information for an EIS
• Public will only be guaranteed 20 working days to comment on EIS
• Only developments involving 3 or more State Departments will need an EIS document
• No public notification or appeals on most developments
• Development affecting areas covered by the Nature Conservation Act aren’t automatically assessable
• Government assessment is to be privatised through "code assessment"
• No public comment or appeal on most pollution licenses
• Developers believe that IPA "…will supercharge growth…"
• Public will only have 60 days to comment on all possible developments not requiring impact assessment, once every five years, through the review of their town plans.

This legislation should be amended immediately after promulgation on Monday, 30^th March, correcting the imbalance of too little opportunity for community input, too few requirements for environmental protection and too short a time frame for Council and referral agency consideration of proposals.