Public Interest and Planning Law - Essay Example

Public Interest and Planning Law Insert Name: Lecturer’s Name: Institution: Date: For any new planning system to be established it is important to consider the public interest. The reason behind this is that the needs of the people should not be overlooked. This means that before any planning system is set the people’s interest should be considered so as to assure the plan do not go against what people prefer. Public interest is very important for any planning system to be successful because there is need to consider what the people want so as to mind about their future. It is also important because the public will always care for any system that will threaten their lives in any way. Public interest is important for any planning body because it is all about improving people’s welfare by making their standard of living improve. Therefore, every new planning system should aim at benefitting the general public by serving what they value. Though a planning system may be serving the welfare of the people may get opposition from the public itself or even the politicians. This has so far led to no consensus in regards what people of a particular area prefer to be of their interest. Public interest has been used by many planners in helping them design plan systems. Public interest help in formulating the best planning system because the planning bodies are made accountable by the citizens where they propose what they want to be done. This has led to economic growth because the citizens propose the plans that will highly benefit the majority of the area residents. Public interest goal is also important in designing any planning system because it legitimizes planning as one of the public activities. This means even the general public feel part of the design and makes the planning legitimate. The general will only agree to those plans which they have been consulted when being formulated and the ones which give their needs a priority. Therefore, the state involves the public interest to ensure any planning system formulated works in line with well being of the majority. This makes public interest a very important aspect when designing any planning policy because the right decision is always made to favour the majority. This role of public interest has attracted a lot of criticism from a lot of people because they see the general public as interfering with key development issues that could benefit few such as the politicians and developers. There those people who see public interest as not important when formulating a planning system because it has no basis and even it is not clear what is meant by public interest. Public interest is also important while formulating a planning system because it plays the role of playing out the norm. This is because those who are in planning profession see it necessary and as part of doing their job. The planning practitioners see it as the right thing to put public interest into consideration before a planning system is formulated. The planning professionals insist that this is how it should be because that is how it is taught. Therefore, it will be important for the government to consider public interest in their planning because the professional will raise a lot of opposition because the government has gone out of the norm. In simpler terms the professionals want to maintain the status quo. The other role that makes public interest important to the planning system is because it works with other stakeholders to evaluate any project and plan that has been put in place. The architects of public interest argue that the states cannot be separated with public interest because the state works to provide for the best interest of its people. Therefore, any planning system or any project is always under scrutiny by the general public to ensure they get the best and that no party of the planning system threaten the public’s interest. Therefore, there is need for the public interest to be considered in formulating a planning system. The evaluation role of the public interest is viewed as the only role that can be played by the public because it dwells in protecting the voice of the majority. For any plan to be approved it has to be evaluated to ensure the set guidelines on the public interest are not violated. The role of evaluation has even been drawn in North South Wales (NSW) Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in section 79C. The public interest as given in section 79C part is evaluated by a consent authority that is not supposed to put into any consideration any plan that affects the biodiversity. This means that any plan that threatens the well being of the majority should not be authorized. This evaluation goes beyond the end product but extends to ensuring that there is sustainable development this possible through lobbying for formulating and enforcement of environmental laws that will help achieve sustainable development. This makes the government and other stakeholder to make the right decisions that do not affect the environment. The public interest should not be foregone when an important decision is to be made. In a case McKinnon v Secretary, Department of Treasury (2005) 145 FCR 70; Tamberlin J tried to provide a summary on what public concept is and how it can be used in modern planning. He said it has been in so many legislative provisions for courts and tribunals to rule issues thought to affect public interest. He stated that the phrase public interest does not have any universal definition and that it should be universally defined because scenarios are different. He said public interest should be an outcome that serves the welfare of the majority or the nation at large but this should depend on different or a given scenario. He said in the current world public interest is taken to be the difference between private interests or those of the majority citizens. He said that any planning body gives the factors that should be adhered to when making a determination and they are all related to public interest. He concluded by saying public interest is not something unique and, therefore, do not have any unique definition. In the case Engadine Area Traffic Action Group Inc v Sutherland Shire Council (No 2) (2004) 136 LGERA 365 it is right to bring legal action against any person or institution that goes against the general will of the public. The courts have decided not to have a universal definition about the public sector but to leave to be defined at a particular situation that people feel involve public interest. The courts have laid guidelines by which should be followed in deciding the public interest cases because the cases are not the same and involve different facts. The first guideline in determining this factor is whether the issue in question affects the whole community well being or just a part of the community. The second guideline is to determine if the issue in question relates to any legal issue. This will help the courts identify if there exist any public right that has been violated and if the violation has great effect in the society so as to be considered to be a public interest. The guidelines will help give a solution to any legal question that has been identified in the scenario so as to reduce the effects of the issue. They will also help identify factors of public interest present and give strategies on how to solve them without affecting the needs and interests of the majority. In the above case public interest is said to be multi-faceted and there is need to consider each and every facet in determining a public issue that is to be said to affect welfare of others. The issue of public interest was disclosure of information during intra-government decision making that the appellant felt that there must be disclosure and lack of disclosure on the side of defendant was neglect. Section 89F calls for participation by the public to ensure that what is right is done to benefit the general public. It calls for participation where any body dealing with planning does not follow the law and commits act that disregard public interest. The section calls for any individual or the general public to bring action against such a person who overlooks public interest. The action that can be brought against such a person are public interest action and social interest action. This section calls for the general public to participate in planning and decision making that involves the general public. This helps people to determine the projects they want to be undertaken in their place. To enable this courts have allowed petitions without applying the court charges and it is not a requirement in such petitions to be represented by lawyers. The reason behind this is to facilitate the general public to participate in decision making in matters that concern the majority. Through the public interest factor the courts have taken it to be their role to monitor and criticize the government and it’s planning agencies. The reason behind this is for the courts to social justice that is seen to benefit the majority. The judiciary ensures that it does not interfere with other arm of the government such as the legislature, political and administration. It is very hard to distinguish between public interest and social interest because they are almost intertwined. The only difference is the purpose of social action because it is aimed fighting for the rights of specific group of people whose rights have been abused. Any action that can cause injury and suffering to majority of the people is taken to be against public interest. The suffering people might not be in position of defending themselves but another person can take that role of seeking justice on their behalf. This includes, for example, prisoners under trial or workers in stone quarries or inmates of care centres or home, pavements duellers, etc. In PIL the public rights are abused and arm caused, therefore, justice has to be sought. For example, water pollution that leads to the majority of the people lacking clean drinking water is abuse of rights. This might be as a result of discharge of effluents. This was lead to a petition by the injured people who are the majority. Other examples are petitions challenging the government’s monopoly of the electronic media, inefficiency of the telephone department, non-performance of mandatory civil duties, etc. Public Interest Litigation is the most important tool of movement of legal aid and its role is to fight for justice. Public interest Litigation is meant to bring justice to the unorganized and exploited sections of society who have no access to the courts because of the prohibitive cost of litigation. PIL is means by which justice can percolate down to the masses and be made more accessible and available to the poor and the victims of injustice.PIL is brought before the court to ensure that legal rights of the majority may they be incapacitated in any way do not suffer from the oppression of the powerful. Therefore the government should take as an opportunity and not a challenge to ensure it delivers the best services to its people. This calls for the people who can represent those suffering in a court of law. To allow social justice to prevail the judiciary should become easily available and should not involve so many costs. The system should be easy to access to ensure even the poor can access justice. The improvement of the justice system will mean that a lot of people can access the courts to ensure that their needs are catered for. Public interest is a part of participatory justice that ensures that even a third party can fight for justice. In order to entertain PIL, the court has liberalized procedural rules. Therefore, any person who feels can represent an issue affecting the majority in a specific area can take the case to court and can succeed to fight for this rights because it is recognized by the supreme court. In the recent past people have grouped the various parties to the Planning system as Private Interest, Public Interest and Public Participation and have also explained their meaning. Private interests were defined as landowners and companies, public interest as central and local government in all their guises, and public participation as individuals and groups excluded from the other two categories. It is instructive to view the history of public participation in environmental matters over the last two hundred years through the interaction of these categories. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the role of government was confined to defence of the realm and law and order. Good government was defined a minimal and cheap. Taxation was negligible, leaving wealth in the hands of those who knew how to use it whilst individuals purchased the goods and services they required, and the poor depended on charitable institutions. This was the era of the private interest; therefore, private property is seen as it is against public need because most individuals tend to forego public interest in order to serve their individual interest. Members of the business community especially those taking part in planning should be aware of their rights and limits within which they can operate. In this paper, for example, the tobacco companies have a right as provided by terms of doing business in the country but there are those who see smoking tobacco as against public interest. The companies have a right to compete in a fair way in the country although tobacco smoking is seen as against the public interest. The law also has helped the council society understand its obligation by protecting people against the use of tobacco. The community at large should also understand the law so as to eliminate health hazards posed by production and use of some products such as tobacco. The community and the companies should also understand the law as to understand the duties they have over others and the environment. The reason behind is that the public should be able to identify the issues that go against the interest of the public. In conclusion, there is no definite definition of public interest that can be universally accepted because there are different scenarios that have different facts. Therefore, the public should be aware of the interests that benefit the majority. There is no consistent definition that has been agreed upon because the ones arise keep receiving opposition and, therefore, no definition that can clearly explain what public interest means and what it should include or exclude. According to the emerging issues and development a third party who is not affected by an issue but feels that there are those suffering he or she can take the case to court and find justice for the suffering. Works cited NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Read More