I am offering completely impartial advice to Planning authorities across regional NSW, particularly in the biodiversity and cultural heritage fields.

Why? Because I work for a regional Local Government (Dubbo Regional Council) in this space and see the real need for objectivity in Planning. I also understand the very real difficulties in sourcing specialist staff in regional NSW. In other words I know theres a need, and I know its unmet in many regions.

I see the errors and short cuts commercial consultants make for or on behalf of clients. I am offering objective review services to assist decision makers.

What happens when a specialized statutory planner is presented with a complex, often hundreds of pages long, Biodiversity Report? He or she trusts that the proponents consultants have presented accurate facts and arguments. They follow the consultants recommendations because they aren’t specialists in Biodiversity. 

They haven’t spent time studying the intricacies and inter-relationships between the Biodiversity Conservation Act, the Local Land Services Act and their various Regulations and Methods so theyre not in a position to question those recommendations.

Unfortunately, all too often in my work I see consultants making faulty assertions, providing incomplete assessments or providing illegal exemptions to legal requirements for their clients.

Sometimes at the expense of important biodiversity or cultural heritage.

I see that many smaller and regional Councils lack the skill-set needed to interpret these reports accurately and see that an objective reviewer could be very helpful in many instances. To review consultants reports and advise Council’s statutory Planners.