❓ The Minister for Housing outlines key issues raised at the Roundtable on Affordable Housing, focusing on inconsistencies in local council planning and building approval processes that increase housing costs. The government is addressing these concerns through reforms in local government.
AnsweredQoN 51Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ROUNDTABLE ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING
51. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Minister for Housing:
Could the minister please outline some of the significant
issues raised at his Roundtable on Affordable Housing meeting, which brings together
government, industry and community sectors to develop ideas to address the
affordable housing challenge?
51. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Minister for Housing:
Could the minister please outline some of the significant
issues raised at his Roundtable on Affordable Housing meeting, which brings together
government, industry and community sectors to develop ideas to address the
affordable housing challenge?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Forrestfield for a very good question.
One of the key aspects of our strategy to make housing more affordable is to
get feedback from industry. One of the mechanisms I use is the Roundtable on
Affordable Housing. We have had three meetings. Previous housing ministers have
used the same vehicle. At the last meeting we focused on the cost and complexity
of planning and building approvals processes. Whilst there is no silver bullet,
a number of issues were raised. They relate mainly to disparity between local
councils in relation to planning and building requirements, developer
contributions and also the decision-making process itself. There are lots of
inconsistencies that add to the cost such as time delays and poor development
decisions, and obviously that increases the cost of housing, making it less
affordable. It is a fairly important topic to address at the roundtable.
Some of the specific examples raised by the people who
attended, who I will mention shortly, related to the structure plans. Some
councils require very detailed structure plans, which go beyond the guidelines
of the state government's structure plans. There is a bit of disparity
between the councils on structure plans. That is even before there is approval
for a development. Another example raised was the aesthetic changes to projects
that already meet the planning and building guidelines. Small changes are made
by some councils. One example I will give is changing the roof pitch and adding
coloured panels to a complex added $6 000 to the cost of each of the
apartments. At the lower end of the market, that is a significant amount of
money for an apartment. Another example raised by some of the developers at
this meeting was the different garage guttering types. That is not really a big
issue but councils seem to think it is a big issue. There is also the issue of
kitchen exhaust fans and whether they can be internally circulated or
discharged internally. The way forward is to get some reform around local
government. I am pleased to see that my colleague the Minister for Local
Government is addressing some of those issues. That is very good.
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time. Please calm down.
The air conditioning is coming back on.
Mr W.R. MARMION : I
look forward to that.
In conclusion, the Liberal–National government is listening
to the feedback it is getting from industry. We are addressing some of the
approvals process concerns and the Minister for Local Government will be
dealing with a lot of those that were raised at the meeting. I wish to thank
those people from industry, including Anglicare WA, the Housing Industry
Association, the Western Australian Local Government Association, the Property
Council of Australia, the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Real
Estate Institute of Western Australia, for their contributions to the
roundtable.
One of the key aspects of our strategy to make housing more affordable is to
get feedback from industry. One of the mechanisms I use is the Roundtable on
Affordable Housing. We have had three meetings. Previous housing ministers have
used the same vehicle. At the last meeting we focused on the cost and complexity
of planning and building approvals processes. Whilst there is no silver bullet,
a number of issues were raised. They relate mainly to disparity between local
councils in relation to planning and building requirements, developer
contributions and also the decision-making process itself. There are lots of
inconsistencies that add to the cost such as time delays and poor development
decisions, and obviously that increases the cost of housing, making it less
affordable. It is a fairly important topic to address at the roundtable.
Some of the specific examples raised by the people who
attended, who I will mention shortly, related to the structure plans. Some
councils require very detailed structure plans, which go beyond the guidelines
of the state government's structure plans. There is a bit of disparity
between the councils on structure plans. That is even before there is approval
for a development. Another example raised was the aesthetic changes to projects
that already meet the planning and building guidelines. Small changes are made
by some councils. One example I will give is changing the roof pitch and adding
coloured panels to a complex added $6 000 to the cost of each of the
apartments. At the lower end of the market, that is a significant amount of
money for an apartment. Another example raised by some of the developers at
this meeting was the different garage guttering types. That is not really a big
issue but councils seem to think it is a big issue. There is also the issue of
kitchen exhaust fans and whether they can be internally circulated or
discharged internally. The way forward is to get some reform around local
government. I am pleased to see that my colleague the Minister for Local
Government is addressing some of those issues. That is very good.
Mr P.C. Tinley interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Willagee, I call you to order for the first time. Please calm down.
The air conditioning is coming back on.
Mr W.R. MARMION : I
look forward to that.
In conclusion, the Liberal–National government is listening
to the feedback it is getting from industry. We are addressing some of the
approvals process concerns and the Minister for Local Government will be
dealing with a lot of those that were raised at the meeting. I wish to thank
those people from industry, including Anglicare WA, the Housing Industry
Association, the Western Australian Local Government Association, the Property
Council of Australia, the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Real
Estate Institute of Western Australia, for their contributions to the
roundtable.
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