I still think the “Mc Camp” gag is funny.

Economists at Large are celebrating ANOTHER VICTORY!!!…..or are we??

First, the good news.  Singleton Council have recommended to a joint regional planning panel to reject a development application by The MAC group to build a temporary worker camp on the outskirts of Singleton.  A few months back, we reviewed the socio economic assessment that the proponents had commissioned and made a submission on the development application.  We recommended that they reject the application as:

• No cost benefit analysis of the application had been done
• The input-output modelling of the application overstated the economic case for the project
• The modelling failed to incorporate the negative economic effects of the project on the rental market, local home owners and potential environmental costs.

So we were pleased to read that part of council’s reasoning was:

The socio economic impact statement makes a number of assumptions that are not substantiated and as a result the assessment is inadequate. (p50)

We’d like to think that our submission had some influence on this….but before getting into the champagne, read on!!

The applicant submitted a socio economic impact report, prepared by Western Research Institute, as a part of the application.  Council engaged Hunter Valley Research Foundation (HVRF) to undertake a peer review of this report.  A summary of the key findings of the peer review by HVRF are as follows:

(several dot points omitted)

The main limitation of the information provided relates to the singular use of the [input output] methodology and the absence of any assessment that may account for the other costs and benefits of the proposed development against alternative options.  (p36)

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  “Hunter Valley Research Foundation…..now where have we heard that name before???”

That’s right, it was the HVRF who did the input output modelling for the Warkworth case, which was found to be “inadequate”, and their same model has just been thrown out of the Ashton coal case, and criticised by the Ashton’s new economist (no links yet).

When the HVRF get given lemons, they sure know how to make lemonade.  When your own input output modelling is under fire, what better way to make a buck than by criticising someone else’s!?!?!

You can’t make this stuff up.

Here is the Singleton Council’s full recommendations:

Singleton Council 2013 Recommendation of rejection MAC camp

Hilarious/offensive image from this blog.