NSW homes cheaper after law changes: govt

A NSW government paper recommends speeding up the approval process for many types of developments. Source: AAP

NEW homes will be cheaper to build under the NSW government's overhaul of the state's planning system, says Planning Minister Brad Hazzard.

About 80 per cent of development proposals will qualify for fast-tracked decision making under the changes, estimated to save businesses and families about $174 million a year.

Most of these applications, which include new homes and home extensions, will be determined in less than 25 days.

Mr Hazzard said the government was slashing millions of dollars in red tape.

"That should translate into far faster processes, and holding costs are what contributes to the expense of homes, so we are anticipating that will have downward pressure," he said.

He was unable to put a figure on the cost saving for new homes but said it was logical to expect a drop in prices if more housing was coming in to the market.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said the white paper represented the most significant reform of the state's planning laws in more than 30 years.

"What we are delivering is an opportunity for communities and councils to work together to plan their suburbs, their streets and their regions.

"To deliver homes more affordably, to deliver the jobs closer to where people work and to do so at the same time as infrastructure is being delivered."

Under the changes, communities will have a legal charter to participate in upfront planning of areas, deciding where developments will go, what type they will be and what infrastructure will be needed to support them.

Community consultation was the centrepiece of the reforms, Mr Hazzard said.

"There will be guaranteed capacity for the community to have their say on how they see their local area developing."

"The community will be able to own this planning system, they will own what happens in their local area."

However, he conceded, "There is no question it is a mighty challenge to get the community to switch on at an earlier stage".

State opposition leader John Robertson said the proposed planning laws would give more power to developers.

"This is a regime which will give developers everything they want.

"It will exclude local communities from having a say at the most critical point of the planning process - that is, when the detailed development applications go to a council and no-one in the local community will have a say on anything."

Opposition planning spokesman Luke Foley said it would remove the general consultation process with communities in the preliminary stages of community engagement.

"Whilst cutting out the consultation at the point when development plans become a reality - that is a very cynical breach of faith with people who voted for a return of planning powers to local community."

The white paper is now open for community consultation for the next ten weeks. Legislation will be introduced to parliament in the second half of this year.

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Vehicle sales down in March

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says sales of new motor vehicles fell 0.6 per cent in March. Source: AAP

AUSTRALIAN sales of new motor vehicles fell 0.6 per cent in March.

There were 95,113 new vehicles sold in March, seasonally adjusted, compared with 95,716 in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

In the year to March, new motor vehicle sales rose 4.5 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

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Broker denies fraudulent mining proposal

Former mining broker Mike Chester rejected claims he lied in previous evidence to an ICAC inquiry. Source: AAP

A DOCUMENT designed to persuade the NSW government to grant a mining exploration licence in 2008 was peppered with so many false and misleading statements it amounted to fraud, a corruption inquiry has heard.

Former broker Mike Chester has told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) he had a stake in the company granted the licence for Doyles Creek, and he "made a significant amount of money" from his involvement in the bid for a training mine at the Hunter Valley site.

But he has rejected claims he lied in previous evidence to the commission, saying instead he "improvised" when testifying on Friday.

The ICAC is examining whether then-mining minister Ian Macdonald conferred an improper benefit on ex-union boss John Maitland and other businessmen behind the Doyles Creek coal plan by granting the licence in December 2008.

Mr Chester on Monday denied deliberately including false information in a March 2008 submission to Mr Macdonald in support of the licence being granted.

Counsel assisting the commission Peter Braham SC put to Mr Chester the submission he helped prepare contained "material misstatements and falsehoods" regarding the size of the resource at Doyles Creek, the true purpose of any proposed training mine, the financial backing for the project and its likely profitability.

Mr Chester has denied making a $1 million windfall from his $23,000 investment in Doyles Creek Mining - but did say he "made a significant amount of money", and agreed he knew that was a possibility when he became involved in the submission to Mr Macdonald.

"In each case, you were aware that misleading and false statements to which you were a party would or might improve the chances of the exploration licence being granted at Doyles Creek?" Mr Braham asked.

"I don't believe that there were any false or misleading statements," the witness replied.

Mr Braham said "acting dishonestly in the way I have described, for the purpose I have described, was fraudulent on your part".

"I don't believe that at all," Mr Chester said.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Braham accused Mr Chester of lying in evidence to the ICAC last week.

Mr Chester agreed he gave incorrect evidence because he was "flustered" but denied trying to mislead the inquiry.

"I should have said I don't recall ... I improvised," he said.

The inquiry continues before Commissioner David Ipp.

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Welfare group welcomes SA pay hikes

THE South Australian government has delivered on a promise to pay its fair share for community sector workers, a peak welfare group says.

The government on Sunday pledged $119 million to fund pay increases for community sector workers on state awards as part of its response to a Fair Work Australia wage decision.

The extra cash will provide for pay hikes of between 23 and 45 per cent over nine years.

South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) executive director Ross Womersley said the government had always maintained it was committed to paying its fair share for community sector workers.

"It has delivered on this promise," Mr Womersley said in a statement on Monday.

"Community sector workers deliver vital support in the non-government sector to many of the most vulnerable members of our community."

Delivering the pay increases, Premier Jay Weatherill said some of the state's lowest-paid workers were providing some of the most important community services.

"These people have dedicated their lives to helping the disadvantaged," he said.

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NSW to mull Gillard's Gonski offer

SYDNEY 14 April 2013 - The NSW government says it needs more time to consider the federal government's offer of $2 for every extra $1 that states and territories invest in education.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday announced details of Labor's schools improvement plan, which is driven by the Gonski review released a year ago.

The plan is built around the promise of extra base funding of $14.5 billion over six years from 2014.

"Today I make an offer for the extra money required to get us to the school resourcing standard," Ms Gillard said.

"For every one dollar they are prepared to put in to get there, I am prepared to put in two dollars."

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the government would "examine the details" of the proposal.

"The NSW Government has constructively supported Gonski because we see it as a win for students," Mr Piccoli said in a statement.

"We continue to work constructively with the Commonwealth to turn this review into an opportunity for all of our students."

The federal government wants agreement from the states and territories at this Friday's Council of Australian Governments (COAG) leaders meeting.

Of the $14.5 billion in extra investment, NSW would get $5 billion, with the majority to go to public schools.

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States told to put up more for schools

THE states have been told to stump up an extra $5.1 billion over six years for schools funding, under a federal government plan to improve the national education system.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says a total of $14.5 billion would be pumped into the sector from next year, with the commonwealth providing the bulk or 65 per cent.

"It's a lot of money, but I believe it is a wise investment in our children's future and our nation's future," she told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

"For every one dollar they (the states) are prepared to put in to get there, I am prepared to put in two dollars."

The National Plan for School Improvement reforms build on the Gonski schools funding review released a year ago.

While $14.5 billion over six years falls short of the $6.5 billion a year recommended by the review, Labor says education investment will increase if proposed yearly indexation rates are agreed to.

It wants the states and territories to increase their education budgets by a minimum three per cent annually. If they do, the commonwealth will index its yearly funding by 4.7 per cent.

The states are also being asked to stop education cuts and funding freezes, spread funds fairly and sign a new National Education Reform Agreement.

Ms Gillard warns if the schools funding model isn't addressed, the sector will be $5.4 billion worse off because of a widening gap between spending commitments by the states and the commonwealth.

State leaders are heading to Canberra on Friday for the Council of Australian Governments meeting where the education funding issue will be thrashed out.

If agreement isn't reached, Ms Gillard says the states will be left to fight among themselves for the limited resources available.

So far Western Australia and Queensland have been sceptical about the federal government's plans despite drawn-out, high-level negotiations with officials and schools education minister Peter Garrett.

But if Labor succeeds, Ms Gillard says there will be extra money per student and loadings for schools with disadvantaged pupils, including indigenous children or those with disabilities.

Under the school resource standard, the proposed per student amount for 2014 is $9,271 for primary school pupils and $12,193 for secondary students.

The big winners will be government schools, which will share $12 billion, while Catholic schools will share $1.4 billion and independent schools $1 billion.

"Today's announcement is about distributing funding according to need, distributing to disadvantage," Australian Education Union (AEU) federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said.

Every school will have to have a transparent school improvement plan to ensure it is trying to reach national education benchmarks on numeracy and literacy.

Labor wants Australia's education system to be ranked in the world's top five for reading, mathematics and science by 2025.

"For me, it was education and getting every child a great education that brought me into politics, as a moral cause," Ms Gillard said.

"We cannot have the strong economy that we want tomorrow unless we have the best of education in our schools today."

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Hawaii gives OK to 30 Meter Telescope

A PLAN by California and Canadian universities to build the world's largest telescope at the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano received approval from the state on Friday.

The decision by the Board of Land and Natural Resources clears the way for the group managing the Thirty Meter Telescope project to negotiate a sublease for land with the University of Hawaii.

The telescope would be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to watch new planets and stars being formed. It should also help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe.

The telescope's segmented primary mirror, which is nearly 100 feet (30 meters) long, will give it nine times the collecting area of the largest optical telescopes in use today. Its images will also be three times sharper.

But the telescope may not hold the world's largest title for long. A group of European countries plans to build the European Extremely Large Telescope, which will have a 138-foot (42-meter)-long mirror.

Some Native Hawaiian groups had petitioned against the project, arguing it would defile the mountain's sacred summit.

Native Hawaiian tradition holds that high altitudes are sacred and are a gateway to heaven. In the past, only high chiefs and priests were allowed at Mauna Kea's summit. The mountain is home to one confirmed burial site and perhaps four more.

Environmentalists also petitioned to stop the telescope on the grounds it would harm habitat for the rare wekiu bug.

The board approved the project anyway, but imposed two dozen conditions including a requirement that employees be trained in culture and natural resources.

The University of California system, the California Institute of Technology and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy are spearheading the telescope. China, India and Japan have signed on to be partners.

The University of Hawaii is involved because it leases the summit land from the state of Hawaii.

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