Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

A transport consumer group, operating around Sydney

NSW Department of Planning
GPO Box 39
Sydney 2001
28 June 2013

P. O. Box K606
Haymarket 1240
http://www.aptnsw.org.au/
jimd@aptnsw.org.au
0428-609-208

The proposed planning system is too complicated and gives the Minister and/or his delegates too much power to over-ride whatever parts of it he pleases. The more laws we have, the less law we have.
There should be a strong nexus between transport planning and land-use planning. No such nexus is evident from the White Paper.
Although the recent Long Term Transport Master Plan (LTTMP) is mentioned in the White Paper, the LTTMP is seriously deficient and certainly not what its title would suggest. The LTTMP was claimed to be the result of extensive public consultation however it would be more accurate to describe it as being despite public consultation. It sets out to lay down principles and describe their implementation however many of conclusions it reaches were clearly decisions made before or outside the public consultation.
Also, the LTTMP has inconsistent aims and therefore cannot be used as a basis for anything. For example, it wants to strengthen centres and yet it wants to amplify roads into centres. Strengthening centres entails increasing densities whereas running more roads into a centre requires space for roads and car-parking and cannot result in increased density.

Yours sincerely,
Jim Donovan
Secretary