Metro strategy running blind

Metro strategy running blind
Image: An anagram of the city-shaper contained in the draft Sydney Metropolitan Strategy

The latest draft of the State Government’s Sydney Metropolitan Strategy has been roundly condemned for prioritising economic growth while ignoring Sydney’s food production system.

Jamie Parker, the Greens MP for Balmain, said that the government deserved credit for mentioning agriculture in the strategy, but more work was needed to enhance the value of farming.

“As a result of long-term effort by environmentalists and food security campaigners, the issue of food production has been included for the first time in the strategy,” he said.

“Sydney’s total agricultural production, including value adding and processing, has been calculated being worth more than $1 billion.

“The government needs to strategically identify food production land and preserve it. This land needs to be protected from mining and urban sprawl, and needs to be enhanced with healthy waterways.”

Rob Cairns, Australia’s Program Manager for Sustainable Agriculture at the World Wildlife Fund, said local produce was under threat from Sydney’s urban sprawl.

“Farming in the metropolitan area produces many benefits for Sydneysiders, including fresh food. But also green views, clean air, recreational opportunities and other environmental values,” he said.

“These benefits are threatened by urban and suburban sprawl, underscoring the need for integrated planning to ensure that Sydney’s growing population continues to enjoy a clean and green environment. This includes making space for agriculture alongside other land uses.”

A spokesperson for Planning and Infrastructure NSW said the strategy recognised the importance of Sydney’s food production systems by including agricultural space as one of the key growth areas.

“The draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney recognises the importance of rural land on the city’s fringe by identifying the area as the Metropolitan Rural Area – one of nine ‘city shapers’ that will directly influence Sydney’s growth to 2031,” said the spokesperson.

“Importantly, the area has been identified for agricultural activities that will contribute to Sydney’s future ability to maintain a reliable and local source of fresh food and produce.

“It must be noted that the draft strategy does not promote urban sprawl and the department does not regard rural land as urban land in waiting.”

Jeff Angel, CEO of the Total Environment Centre, said the strategy was a total attack on the natural environment of Sydney and its food production systems.

“The strategy is a cave in to developers and a plan for urban sprawl, land-clearing, more traffic chaos and worsening air pollution,” he said.

“An alarming aspect of the plan is the setting of minimum targets for population growth and new development, and a shift away from current urban consolidation strategies to largely unchecked urban sprawl development on Sydney’s fringes, including in the Blue Mountains.

“Accelerating development on Sydney’s fringes will make developing new public transport prohibitively expensive and enshrine car dependency.”

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