New team appointed to guide planning reform
27 November 2017
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Reform team to be established within the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
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Team to align planning system with McGowan Government policies such as METRONET
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Reduced complexity and administrative overlap
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Establish greater consistency across local government
WA Government: A
planning reform team, led by
highly experienced town planner Evan Jones, has been appointed to
deliver improvements to
Western Australia's
planning system.
The McGowan Government is committed to creating a more strategic and
streamlined planning system that is open and understandable to everyone.
Parliamentary Secretary John Carey will work with the
reform team to
ensure key objectives align with policies such as
METRONET.
These overarching policies will be to strengthen our suburbs by
increasing
housing choice, boosting public transport and enhancing the
built and natural environment.
The reform team will have a range of objectives, which will address
community concerns around how planning decisions are made.
Objectives of the planning reform team will include:
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Making strategic planning the cornerstone of all planning decisions;
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Opening up the planning system so that it is understandable to all;
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Clarifying local and State planning roles and functions of the WA Planning Commission and Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage;
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Responding to community concerns about accountability and transparency of Development Assessment Panels;
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Formally recognising the need for community participation;
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Creating more certainty for industry and cutting red tape; and
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Refining developer contribution schemes.
The review team will provide
regular reports on findings and measures that can be implemented subject
to final ministerial endorsement and legislative changes if required.
It is the McGowan Government's intention for the planning system to
address modern requirements of the metropolitan area and regions.
Meanwhile, the position of WA Planning Commission chairperson will be
advertised shortly, with the successful appointee to start in 2018. The
current chairperson's term was recently extended to December 31.
Comments attributed to Planning Minister Rita Saffioti:
"It is critical for the State Government to set the agenda that we want
others to follow.
"Through this reform, we will aim to establish a line of sight between
strategic, city, regional and local plans so that their relationships
are clear.
"A good planning system will promote a more compact, connected and
liveable city with greater diversity of housing close to public
transport.
"We want to empower communities to know what can or cannot be built in
their area and ultimately get more people involved in the planning
process."
Comments attributed to Parliamentary Secretary and Perth MLA
John Carey:
"Our reform agenda will also seek out quick wins which either reduce red
tape, streamline processes or make it easier for any stakeholder -
residents, industry or councils - to use planning guidelines for their
day-to-day business.
"We can't simply sit back and say the current planning framework is good
enough. We can always do better - and this reform process provides a
genuine opportunity to lift the performance of our planning system in
Western Australia."
--ENDS--
Source: Western Australia Government - www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au
Contact: Minister's office - 6552 5500
External Links: N/A
Recent news by: WA Government