CAROL FAULKNER: I so wanted the Committee for Adelaide’s manifesto, Earning our Place in a Global Economy, to be the holy grail I’ve been searching for – a defining blueprint for creating the perfect marriage of economic and environmental sustainability. I was sadly disappointed.
The message is delivered with a fresh shot of youthful exuberance and on-trend buzz words, but essentially it’s the unchanging manifesto that big business promotes at every opportunity where everything depends on growth.
At first, my hope held out. Yes, I thought, tell me how the economy can prosper without any additional demand on the environment from population growth. As I read on, my heart sank and my pencil ran out from circling every occurrence of the word ‘growth’.
By the time I got to the document’s endorsement of the 30-Year Plan’s flawed, high-immigration based population projections, all hope had vanished. Just how many developers are on this Committee for Adelaide?
To the young author of the document and others of his age group, I throw down a challenge. Harvest all of your enthusiasm, creativity and innovation to see if you can come up with a plan for economic sustainability that does not rely on population growth.
If you come to the conclusion it’s not possible, think … really think about what that means for the future of the world … and then try again.
KEN WOOD: Having lived and travelled around the world extensively I can honestly say living in Adelaide is a joy. I believe the stranglehold that once was in the hands of a few North Adelaide councillors and media identities has now been broken and we should applaud Stephen Yarwood for the approach he is taking. Although the current government has been criticized, just look at developments now taking place. Adelaide can be on the move but only if we have the will to support change.
Harness the ideas of younger generations we cannot put up mindless barriers – we will be surprised by the energy and ideas.
I would like to see a better integration by the various bodies who represent the state – theirs has been an uncoordinated approach.
Individuals need to get perspective about how we live, it cannot be just the role of government (those days have gone for good).
JULIE JORDAN: Chair, South West City Residents Association: In Labor’s desperate dying days, Planning Minister John Rau has delivered a final spiteful blow to Adelaide City Council, removing what little remained of its influence on major planning decisions. This completes the government’s project to take the people out of planning and place the keys to the city firmly in the clutches of big developers.
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Last year Rau effectively ended public notification of major developments. Proposals are progressed in private meetings between developers and state planners, with the public excluded from the process. Now our council representatives have also been shut out, leaving the community with no say at all.
Will this latest slap in the face finally provoke a reaction from ACC in defence of community participation? And what of the government-in-waiting; will the Liberals promise to reverse Rau’s draconian planning changes and put the people back in planning? Don’t hold your breath.
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