Threats to Ku-ring-gai’s heritage, streetscapes, etc

The main threats to Ku-ring-gai’s heritage, environment, streetscapes, and amenity arise from the combination of:

• The State Government’s policy of "urban consolidation", which thrusts ever-increasing populations into existing suburbs without any attempt at proper justification.  In FOKE’s view, a policy that threatens so much built and natural heritage, that steals so much amenity and property value from existing residents, deserves not just justification, but should be required to show compelling net benefit to the NSW community.  That is currently lacking.   More»
• The flow of donations from property developers to major political parties, and particularly to the government of the day.  Recent revelations of corruption have reinforced such beliefs.  Not only are such donations a threat to proper planning process, they bring politicians generally into disrepute, and strike at the foundation of transparent political process.   More»
• "State Environmental Planning Policies" (SEPPs), which have allowed the State Government to exercise very significant planning powers with no real accountability to those affected.   More»
• A "Planning Panel", appointed by the Minister to take over all significant planning powers of Ku-ring-gai Council.  As a result, very significant decisions about Ku-ring-gai are now being made by people who have not chosen to live in Ku-ring-gai, and who won’t have to live with the results of their decisions.  Residents have been disenfranchised.   More»
• The lack of any agreed population policy for Australia, with heavy immigration resulting in an ever-increasing population in our major cities, overloading infrastructure, and adversely affecting residents’ amenity and lifestyle.  The major beneficiaries of current immigration levels are developers of apartment buildings and those who receive their political donations (see above).  Certainly not the population at large.   More»

For further details on some of these threats click More»