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baird-the-demolisher steals your homes......
Advice for how to improve the fairness of the system by which private homes are forcibly acquired for major infrastructure was rejected by the Baird government over fears it could delay projects like the $17 billion WestConnex motorway.
Fairfax Media revealed in January that a landmark $100,000 review of compulsory acquisition laws by David Russell, SC, was handed to the government two years ago but was being kept secret.
The government has failed to implement key recommendations of the report while forging ahead with forced resumption of homes for projects including the Westconnex, NorthConnex, Sydney Metro and the Sydney light rail.
Many homeowners are frustrated that they are being offered compensation hundreds of thousands of dollars below market value.
Now, leaked documents reveal that, in December, Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet wrote to Premier Mike Baird telling him to not act on many of the recommendations, following advice from an interdepartmental committee.
It notes two recommendations – introduction of a plain English explanation of the process and the opportunity for a face-to-face meeting with land valuers – have been acted upon.
But the committee's advice "broadly indicates that the remaining recommendations are either (a) not supported or (b) would require legislation and are not a priority for implementation," Mr Perrottet told Mr Baird.
"The key concern of agencies, such as Roads and Maritime Services, is that a number of the recommendations would likely have adverse impacts including increased disputation, valuation complexity, additional costs and delay to the completion of infrastructure projects".
"On this basis, I recommend that at this time no further action be taken to address the review report."
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/baird-government-rejected-westconnex-fairness-...
- By Gus Leonisky at 23 Aug 2016 - 7:37pm
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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extortion at less than market value...
PREMIER Mike Baird is being pressured to release a highly critical report on compulsory home acquisitions he has suppressed for more than two years
The damning report into the NSW government’s process had been marked never to be released, according to confidential documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Baird was advised by his Property Minister Dominic Perrottet in December to keep the Russell Review secret, because the report’s recommendations on how to create a fairer process for families forced to sell their homes could lead to delays in a raft of major infrastructure projects such as WestConnex. Many homeowners are currently in dispute with the government, saying the compensation offered is tens of thousands of dollars less than market value.
read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/damning-report-on-nsw-government-housing-acquisitions-marked-never-to-be-released-documents-reveal/news-story/bd7db776b6ac9667c9daf71d69c5a00b
smiling like assassins...
But now we know that every time Baird made these kinds of statements, he and his government weren't simply failing to follow them through. They were going out of their way to make sure that the compulsory acquisition process remains unfair, unjust, and unchanged.
The NSW Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 gives you the right to "just compensation" if your property is compulsorily acquired. This includes its market value, limited compensation for non-financial disadvantage, and the losses or expenses you incur as a result of the acquisition. Because of this, the public perception of the process is that you'll be well compensated if the government comes knocking for your home or business.
But the NSW government was warned three years ago by a parliamentary committee chaired by Liberal MP Matt Kean that the system was unfair to landowners. In February 2014, it was handed another report by David Russell, SC, after it commissioned him to review the compulsory acquisition process.
Despite spending $100,000 of taxpayer money on the Russell review, the NSW government has never released its recommendations - and now we know why. A letter sent to Baird in December 2015 by his Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet says, in short, that fully implementing the reforms Russell recommended to make the system fairer would result in more disputes, more complex valuations - and more costs to projects like WestConnex.
It should come as no surprise, then, that there have been many reports of the Baird government offering people whose properties are being acquired for WestConnex - my own family included - hundreds of thousands of dollars below what we're legally entitled to receive. On top of this, it's used aggressive tactics to push people to accept these offers.
In one case reported to WestCONnex Action Group, Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) staff informed a resident that if he didn't accept their offer by close of business, they'd strip $70,000 from it. That's not paying "market value". That's hardball negotiation
This is not something that's affecting one or two people. It is happening across the board. And it can only be interpreted as a systematic strategy to make people fight for their legal entitlements.
The toll this takes on people is horrific. Residents have suffered serious health issues as a result of the stress, including anxiety and depression severe enough to warrant medical treatment.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-human-toll-of-mike-bairds-westconnex-20160823-gqz3uc.html
See also: http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/30486