THE NSW government has appointed Carolyn McNally as secretary of the Department of Planning & Environment.
McNally’s appointment follows the NSW government’s decision to abolish the role of director general of planning and infrastructure in April, which saw Sam Haddad sacked as head of Planning NSW after nine years at the helm.
It was part of the government’s plans to have a department secretary take over the role and report directly to the minister in three portfolios: environment and heritage, local government and planning.
Since then McNally has been the acting secretary of the Department of Planning & Environment.
She was formerly deputy director general for Transport for NSW. McNally has previously held senior executive roles in the federal government in infrastructure, regional development and social services sectors.
Premier Mike Baird said McNally has managed multi-billion dollar infrastructure budgets and has extensive experience working closely with both the private and community sectors.
“She is joining the Department of Planning and Environment at an exciting and challenging time, when higher levels of population growth are forecast for Sydney and regional NSW.
“That means new thinking and close working relationships with the private sector, local government and the community will be essential to how we plan for the future,” he added.
NSW planning minister Pru Goward said McNally was responsible for producing NSW’s first ever state-wide Long Term Transport Master Plan, as well as a range of supporting transport plans.
The Urban Taskforce’s CEO Chris Johnson said McNally’s initial challenge will be to ensure that the proposed Greater Sydney Commission has real teeth and is not just another layer over existing structures.
“The difficult balancing act for the new Secretary will be in establishing the commission without undermining her department while also keeping Sydney’s 43 councils feeling empowered.
“While the supply of housing in NSW and particularly in Sydney is currently robust there are concerns that key urban sites are getting harder to find and that strong leadership will be needed to housing Sydney’s growing population. An important role for the secretary will be in communicating to the broader community the necessity of urban growth at affordable prices,”
“With the average price of housing in Sydney now reaching $800,000, the under 40s and future generations will be looking for state government leadership to help increase housing supply to minimise increasing costs. The planning system will be critical in helping with affordability for new families looking for somewhere to live.” Johnson said.
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