Marj's Musings
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Better Planning For Our Future Words Dr Marjorie O’Neill, Member for Coogee Photo Elle Ectrickar It is now widely recognised that addressing climate change must be the number one issue on our agenda. Unless we do a lot more to care for our environment it will simply be unable to care for us. In our private lives we make decisions every day that impact the environment and most of us are consciously trying to make good decisions that reduce our waste and environmental footprint. We are also actively working to benefit the environment through initiatives such as planting trees, nurturing bees and going solar. Yet the sad irony is that the more environmental damage we do, the harder it is to stop it! Consider the items swept into our waterways during the floods and how much harder it 40 The Beast August 2022 Issue 211
is not to turn the air conditioning on as extreme temperatures become more common. No matter how well intentioned we are, our capacity as individuals to address climate change is limited by the infrastructure around us. It is not possible to get out of our cars and take public transport if our buses are cancelled or walk if our streets are broken or unsafe, nor do electric cars provide an opportunity when they are mainly unavailable and when there are few recharging points. We need government and public-private partnerships as well as guidance by industry experts and the communities that want to see real action on climate change. We especially need government leadership to
establish strong environmental planning rules to improve the quality of the environment and the health and welfare of people. This includes implementing sustainability standards into our planning policies. We need stronger requirements for energy efficiency, electrification, tree canopy cover, green space, setbacks and so much more. We require stronger environmental standards that require all developments to mitigate and adapt to the risks of climate change. Amending and strengthening our planning laws offers us a crucial opportunity to not only reduce emissions from new buildings, but also provides us with an opportunity to make housing cheaper to run and healthier for people. In our battle to address climate change we need all stakeholders in our society to be on the same page and working together. This includes planning controls and strong state environmental planning policies that help us get to net zero and prepare for a hotter and, it seems, wetter - future. In order to do this though we need a government that not only accepts the science of climate change, but one that is willing to prioritise addressing it across all aspects of our society. Recently in NSW Parliament, during a speech I was giving on our need to address climate change, a member of the NSW Government attempted to silence me as I spoke about the importance of addressing climate change and the role that setting environmental planning standards can play to help us get to net zero and address urban heating. This is not okay, and for all of our sakes, it is well and truly time that policy aimed at addressing climate change receives non-partisan support across the political divide.
