Where Are Young People In Our Planning System?

Young people in NSW are mobilised and politically active more than ever before. Particularly on the topic of climate change. Extinction Rebellion and School Strike 4 Climate sees thousands of participants at their rallies each year (pre-COVID). But when it comes to participation in our planning system, young people are strangely absent.

This was something that I noticed in November 2020 when I addressed the Independent Planning Commission at a public hearing over a proposed underground coal mine in the Hunter Valley Region of NSW. I provided an oral submission at the public hearing, objecting to the proposal on the grounds that it was not in the public interest, as studies have shown a shift in the public interest away from coal mining projects in Australia.

(The Maxwell Underground Coal Mine Project - Photo from the Daily Telegraph)

Unfortunately, my submission fell on deaf ears and the project was approved a month later. But after reviewing the approval and some of the proposal’s accompanying documentation, I realised why the commission had found it so easy to approve the project despite the evidence I presented in my oral submission. A total of 187 public submissions were received during the exhibition period of the proposal at the start of the year. Of those 187 submissions, only 39 objected to the proposal, whilst 146 were in support. What further perplexed me was that only 15 of the 39 objections cited climate change and/or greenhouse gas emissions in their submission.

(Extract from "Maxwell Project - Submissions Report")

I was utterly bewildered by these numbers. Why were there more submissions of support than objection? Why were there so few objections citing climate change and greenhouse gas emissions? I knew for a fact that there were tens of thousands of young people in NSW alone who are passionate about stopping climate change and new coal mines. The biggest event that School Strike 4 Climate has held in NSW to date was at the Domain in September 2019 which saw over 80,000 students and young people go on ‘strike’. The movement’s specific demands even include “No new coal, oil, and gas projects, including the Adani Mine”. So why were they absent in the planning process for a proposal for a new coal mine in NSW?

(School Strike 4 Climate September 2020 - Photo from The Guardian)

I decided to dig a little deeper into the issue and looked at a few other major coal mine proposals in NSW in the past five years. These include:

· Bylong Coal Mine Project

· Rocky Hill Coal Mine Project

· Wallarah 2 Coal Mine Project

· Drayton Coal Mine Expansion

· United Wambo Open Cut Coal Mine

· Wilpinjong Coal Mine Project

The projects I reviewed each contained a detailed “Response to Submissions” document prepared by the proponent that addressed each of the public submissions received during the exhibition period of the proposal. These documents often provided detailed statistics on the various issues raised in public submissions. Of all the projects I reviewed, over 2,800 objections were submitted. Of these objections, relatively few cited climate change and/or greenhouse gas emissions (I counted around 86 in total). Whilst the age of the objectors is not provided, going by name and location of the objectors, I estimate that the bulk of these public submissions are from an older demographic.

The depth of this issue was one that caught me by surprise. It would appear that young people are not actively engaging in the planning system in NSW on issues and projects that they have passionately expressed interest in. Their notable absence creates problems in achieving their goal of “no new coal, oil, and gas projects” – without expressly objecting to such proposals, it makes it all the more difficult to convince consent authorities such as the Independent Planning Commission that a new coal mine would not be in the public interest. After all, how can it not be in the public interest if the majority of public submissions are in support?

Under the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979, the public interest is a key test in the assessment of any application. In addition, consent authorities are also required to consider any and all public submissions made to it on a given proposal. There are no restrictions under the Act as to who can and cannot make a public submission. The submissions process is seemingly open to anyone in NSW or Australia more broadly.

So how do we engage young people and encourage them to exercise all of their rights that are available to them under our democracy? Should the government start making Tik Tok videos on how to make a public submission? Perhaps educational programs to teach students how our planning system works? Whilst this problem is not one that I alone can solve, it is one that is in dire need of a solution. If our planning system is only catering to one demographic, then we are clearly not as advanced as we frequently make ourselves out to be. Without young people, our planning system and democracy itself will never truly act in the ‘public interest’.