Reading RoomOn 18 May 2011, the Auditor-General published the Australian National Audit Office's (ANAO) report on The Establishment, Implementation and Administration of the Council Allocation Component of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. This report highlighted the fact that there have been delays in Councils delivering infrastructure projects …
The NSW Government has announced that Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) will be repealed. Pending the repeal of Part 3A, transitional arrangements have been announced which cover projects which were lodged under Part 3A. These transitional arrangements are found in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Major …
In 2005 David Carey started work as the General Manager of Community and Corporate Services at the Douglas Shire Council. At a Council meeting in 2008 a motion terminating Mr Carey’s contract of employment was passed. No reasons were given for the termination in the letter the Council CEO sent to Mr Carey notifying him of this decision.
Mr Carey subsequently made a complaint …
The Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) most recent report provides yet another voice calling for the amendment of Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act).[1] In a context where the NSW opposition has pledged to do away with Part 3A if elected next March, ICAC's report will provide the NSW Labor …
The closing date for nominations for the 2010 Maddocks Young Planner Prize is fast approaching. Following in the footsteps of last year's prize recipient, Rachel Hughes of Yarra Ranges Council, this year's winner will receive a grant of $5,000.
Chetwynd v Armidale Dumaresq Council [2010] NSWSC 690 considered whether the publication of a Code of Conduct Committee report finding that Councillor Chetwynd had breached Council’s adopted Code of Conduct was defamatory.
Normally regulatory authorities require land owners, occupiers and people carrying out works to ensure compliance with environmental laws. Usually "I did not know" or "I didn't intend this to happen" is not a defence. This is one aspect of what the law knows as "strict liability".
In this case Calardu Penrith Pty Ltd v Penrith City Council [2010] NSWCA 189, the Court of Appeal was asked to revisit a decision of Justice Biscoe in the Land & Environment Court and determine whether the Council or the relevant Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) had power to determine a development application.
In the shadows of the forthcoming election, Maddocks’ telecommunications lawyers Brendan Coady, Sonia Sharma and Fiona Maclachlan provide a status update on the National Broadband Network (NBN). The NBN shapes as an election issue as it is seen as a key reform and major infrastructure project by the Government, while the opposition has pledged to "trash" the Government’s …
Maddocks previously reported in July 2009, an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation into conduct of Jin Hua Chen and his wife, Yu Ling Sun who offered three cash payments totalling $600 to Warringah Council officers in order to facilitate the Council’s building inspection approval of their business. Mr Chen admitted to intending to bribe the Council …
