Murky waters of Barangaroo

The more that is known about the approval process for Barangaroo - ordinary planning rules circumvented, last-minute approvals signed by the minister before caretaker rules come into force for the election, a court case undermined by ministerial fiat - the less confidence it inspires.

The latest revelation is that in exempting the planned hotel from the normal rules so it can be built on a jetty protruding into the harbour, the government has created a precedent which will affect the legal status of all harbour jetties, and in effect privatise access to the harbour. Although the ramifications of the changes are yet to work through in practice, it appears to have created a windfall for existing owners of jetties: they will now be able to obtain a lease over their jetties, making them transferable and thus highly valuable assets.

In December, we reported that the Ports Minister and Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, was proposing to change the way the government authorises private jetties around Sydney Harbour. Instead of licensing waterfront property owners to build or maintain jetties, NSW Maritime would offer 20-year leases. The difference is that a licence confers no exclusive rights of ownership, while a lease does. Certainly the government will charge landowners more - much more - for their jetties. But under a lease, a jetty becomes tradeable property and hence of great value. It also in effect privatises Sydney's waterfront. Why any government would want to pursue such an antisocial initiative is a mystery; why Labor would want to - the party which under Neville Wran and Bob Carr had tried to consolidate the harbour foreshore as public property - is completely opaque.