In the News: Mini-city a Step Closer to Sydney's Suburbs

As seen in The Sydney Morning Herald, 18th September, 2024.

EXCLUSIVE
Michael Koziol
Sydney editor

A long-delayed plan for a mini-city of 11,000 homes in Liverpool is a step closer after the state government agreed to put the proposal on public exhibition after years of back-and-forth over flooding and contamination concerns. The decision followed months of lobbying by proponent Coronation Property and Labor-linked lobbyists including former premier Morris Iemma, whose dealings with the Minns government recently came under the spotlight.

The 32-hectare former industrial site known as Moore Point is across the Georges River from the Liverpool CBD and train station, and has been slated for high density redevelopment since 2015. Revised plans were submitted to Liverpool Council in 2020, but because of the complexities of the project and the NSW planning system, the Department of Planning had to clear the proposal for public exhibition first.

While former premier Dominic Perrottet said the site could be ‘‘the Barangaroo of the west’’, the department and other government agencies had long-running concerns about flood risk and capacity to evacuate people from the site in an emergency. In March, Coronation Property wrote to Premier Chris Minns, threatening to walk away, and marshalling support from business groups including Business Western Sydney (run by former Labor
housing minister David Borger) and Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue (run by Labor-aligned lobbyist Christopher Brown).

Coronation’s letter to Minns was publicised in The Daily Telegraph, which reported the Planning Department had ordered the developer to commission flood studies that would take up to 18 months, despite previous clearances.

‘‘The current situation is no longer tenable and requires certainty from government immediately,’’ the letter said. On Tuesday, the Planning Department confirmed it approved the public exhibition earlier this month, and the matter was with Liverpool Council. Coronation’s strategy director Aras Labutis said flooding experts agreed the project could proceed, even if some technical issues remained.

Though it has taken almost 10 years, the rezoning – if approved – would not confer permission to build. The developer will have to lodge a separate development application for the first stage, which will also require assessment.

Coronation has pledged 400 of the 11,000 dwellings, or 3.6 per cent, will be affordable units for frontline workers. The plan also includes a public school and 10 hectares of open space. Coronation said if further approvals were granted by this time next year, it could have the first apartments built by the end of 2027. ‘‘We’re ready when the government’s ready,’’ Labutis said.

Coronation is represented by both Iemma Patterson Premier Advisory, a lobby shop run by former Labor premier Iemma and former Liberal MP Chris Patterson, and Premier Communications Group, a Labor-aligned outfit where Iemma is senior counsel. As an ex-premier, political mentor and lobbyist, Iemma’s engagement with Minns and Planning Minister Paul Scully has been the subject of questioning at budget estimates and a recent Herald investigation.

A spokesperson for the premier said Minns had no discussions with Coronation or their consultants,
including Iemma, about the Moore Point project. They confirmed Minns’ office met Coronation and its consultants ‘‘as they would with any other stakeholder... all meetings were declared as required’’.

A spokesperson for Scully said he did not discuss any planning proposal with Iemma Patterson Premier Advisory or Iemma, ‘‘including in the meetings which are disclosed as required and regularly published on the Premier’s Department’s website’’.

Coronation’s managing director Joe Nahas said the decision to proceed to public exhibition was a major milestone and the project could help the Minns government achieve its goal of building more housing in well-connected areas, including affordable homes for workers at nearby Liverpool Hospital.

‘‘We need the government to work with its departments and industry stakeholders and take decisive actions that get rid of the obstacles that have resulted in too many major projects being stuck in the system,’’ Nahas said.