Councillor Chris Harris

On the day that Justice Jayne Jagot found for the developer in the Carlton United Breweries (CUB) case she highlighted the fact that courts do not make merit decisions, they simply uphold the law.  Whether or not that law is a donkey’s bottom is irrelevant, it’s the law.

For all of those who had believed there was a chance for the environment and for Sydney to come out of its industrial revolution, smog-infested thinking, it was a very bleak day indeed.

Then from the gloom of the courtroom there was suddenly hope in a Chippendale café coming from the most unexpected source – the developer.

Unlike Foster’s - the previous owners of the CUB site who wouldn’t even return phone calls let alone agree to a meeting - the Singapore based Frasers Group wanted to talk.

Ecological sustainability of the CUB site is the fundamental core of the community’s problem with the development. This community is as Elizabeth Farrelly articulated in her piece (Fooled again by a system that stinks SMH 22/8/07) “neither stupid nor intransigent nor luddite; they know that development must happen and that sustainability demands density.” Read the rest of this entry »

The environment.
R.I.P.

It was a black day for Sydney as Justice Jagot in the NSW Land & Environment Court ruled against the environment in favor of unsustainable development and the unfettered powers of Minister Sartor.

This was the first Australian case (Drake-Brockman v Minister for Planning) dealing with the climate change effects of a large urban development. The development – the Carlton United Brewery site (CUB) in Chippendale – was formerly owned by Foster’s Ltd and recently acquired by Singapore based Frasers Property. 

Justice Jagot upheld that while Minister Sartor should encourage sustainable development, under the law the Minister was not compelled to, nor was it in the court’s jurisdiction to force the Minister to do so.
 
Deputy Lord Mayor, Greens Councillor Chris Harris: “Under Part 3A Minister Sartor can do whatever he likes to the environment and the Land and Environment Court is powerless to stop him. 
 
“Thanks to this ruling, the CUB development could legally spew out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from the 2300 cars approved for the site. Using coal-fired generated electricity it could pump hundreds of thousands of litres of water to the site and hundreds of thousands of litres of sewage from the site and into the harbour every year.   Not only that but this development will be the benchmark for every other development approved in the city.

“If Labor wanted to lower the bar on sustainability and kill off the environment they couldn’t have found a better man for the job than Mr Sartor.

“Ironically businesses, schools and ordinary Australians are the ones coming up with innovative ideas to counter climate change. Hopefully Frasers will join this group and differentiate themselves  from Fosters and the Labor government who are so blinded by the pollution they create that they sacrifice future generations for profit?” Cr Harris said.

The judgement in full can be found here.

The court case, Matthew Drake-Brockman v the Minister for Planning and others (Foster’s has sold the CUB site to Frasers) regarding the environmental disaster that will be the Carlton United Brewery development has completed.

In two days of debate barristers for both sides argued the case for the importance of ensuring that environmentally sustainable measures were incorporated into the approval process for the site.

With climate change threatening the way we live it was astonishing to hear counsel for the Minister and Frasers argue that “ESD (ecologically sustainability development) should not take primacy over economics” and that under Part 3A the Minister is under “no obligation to take ESD considerations into account.”

Tell that to the future generations when their health, work opportunities and environment are destroyed.

We now await a judgement within the next few weeks.

Below I have included a summary of the arguments in the CUB Hearing including the submission from Francis Douglas QC, counsel for Drake-Brockman.

I would like to thank everyone who took an interest and supported this landmark case that deals with climate change in an urban development. If you would like to read the full submission please email me at charris@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au and I will send these to you.

Cheers 
Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney
Greens Cr Chris Harris Read the rest of this entry »

On Wednesday July 25th in the Land and Environment court counsel for Minister Frank Sartor stunned the packed courtroom with the extraordinary statement that the 2300 cars approved for the Carlton United Brewery (CUB) development was consistent with reducing climate change.

Deputy Lord Mayor Greens Cr. Chris Harris: “I’m not sure if this was a joke or counsel for the Minister thought they were in la-la land rather than a court of law. Either way to stand up in court and pronounce that 2300 cars would help reduce rather than increase our greenhouse emissions is unacceptable.”

The Minister’s counsel denied that the Minister is obliged to take ESD (Environmental Sustainable Development) considerations into account in making a decision under Part 3A. Counsel also argued that ESD guidelines were there to encourage not necessarily achieve sustainability.

“In other words according to the Minister, developments are encouraged but not obliged to include ESD principles and the Minister doesn’t have to consider ESD if he doesn’t want to. I guess this helps you understand the Minister’s view that 2300 cars is an environmental legacy rather than an environmental disaster” Cr. Harris said

Unlike Foster’s, who did not even respond to my offer to meet, I am encouraged by a positive response from Dr Stanley Quek, Managing Director, Frasers Greencliff Developments Pty Ltd. I look forward to meeting with him in August.