City of Sydney's plan to phase out residential gas by end of 2025 as ‘overstep'

News.com.au

9 hours ago

NSW Premier Chris Minns has slammed plans by the City of Sydney to ban gas appliances in all new residential developments as an 'overstep' as businesses push back.
The 'all-electric' plan was unanimously passed on Monday and also restricts food and beverage tenancies in new mixed-use developments to a single connection.
Coming into effect from December 31, the plan is the seventh for a council in NSW after the City of Canada Bay introduced its own controls earlier this month.
Asked about the phase-out, Mr Minns said on Wednesday it was an 'overstep' by the City of Sydney.
'We're taking enormous steps when it comes to emissions in NSW,' he said.
'But, part of it is bringing the community along with you and ensuring that you can you can bring on the largest supply of renewable energy, the greatest reductions in emissions in the state's history in a very short period of time, while showing the public that things like gas on your stovetop, as well as solar and batteries, are all part of the future mix.
'I think that this may perhaps inadvertently push more people away from the public acceptance for this economic change than drive them towards it.
'That's what I'm concerned about.'
Under proposed new planning rules, developers will be required to install electric cooktops, ovens, and indoor heating and cooling systems in new homes, while gas hot water systems will still be permitted for the time being.
The plan would also require new residential buildings, large commercial buildings and hotels in the City of Sydney to be all-electric by January 1, 2027.
Business Sydney Executive Director Paul Nicolaou warned the City of Sydney's approach risked driving up costs for households already struggling with cost of living.
'Restricting energy choice could force residents onto more expensive and less suitable options, without meaningful environmental returns,' he said.
'Council resources should be directed toward practical, inclusive policies that will deliver real outcomes for the community, such as supporting local businesses, improving public infrastructure, and addressing urgent social challenges – not symbolic measures that limit personal choice.'
The change also comes at a time when Chris Minns touts a return for Sydney's night-life.
'It's restaurants, it's pubs, it's clubs who are trying to reinvigorate the city's night-time economy, and they have been burdened by increased costs in energy, increased costs in insurance, increased costs in labour, and this is the last thing that businesses need.
'They've argued day-in, day-out that council should stick to what they're good at and that is roads, footpaths, parks and other local matters, rather than delving into an area which is a state based or an Australia wide.'
Lord Mayor Clover Moore welcomed the new rules.
'Relying on fossil fuel gas is bad for the planet, bad for our finances and bad for our health,' she said.
'Ensuring all-electric buildings into the future is simply a logical next step to take.
These changes will create healthier and more energy-efficient buildings, which will meet future energy standards and avoid expensive retrofitting,'
'They also spare households from being locked into increasingly expensive gas prices and potential shortages.'
Greens MLC Amanda Cohn praised the council-led gas phase-outs in parliament on Wednesday.
'Local government councillors are rightly responding to loud and growing community campaigns to get their local areas off gas at a state level,' she said.
'The NSW government is opting for business as usual, despite the clear evidence of the harms of gas appliances and wood heaters inside our homes.
'Legislators before us were too slow to act on the harms of second-hand cigarette smoke on indoor air quality. Let's not make the same mistake.'