Update: Bowdens court decision safe but planning laws further weakened
The Environment Planning and Assessment (State Significant Development) Bill 2024 that was tabled last night in the NSW Upper House will not invalidate the Court of Appeal ruling on the Bowdens lead and silver mine.
An earlier briefing note released by Planning Minister Paul Scully suggested that the legislation provided for the “validation of development consents determined before the commencement of the Bill”. However, the Bill released last night will not overturn the decision and this was confirmed by the Minister in his second reading speech.
What the Bill does is enable projects declared as State Significant Developments to be broken down into components and assessed separately at the whim of the Planning Minister, meaning their cumulative impacts are not properly assessed. This could include a new application by Bowdens lead and silver mine.
“The community remains significantly concerned about the impacts of this Bill. It puts in jeopardy the proper consideration of the risks of future projects, like lead mines next to primary schools and gold mines at the headwaters of rivers,” said Ms Faehrmann.