❓ A parliamentary question regarding the outcomes of planning reforms in 2014 and their future implications. The Minister provides a detailed response highlighting achievements in planning decisions, subdivision approvals, and ongoing reforms to the planning system.
AnsweredQoN 1002Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PLANNING REFORM
1002. Mr J. NORBERGER to the
Minister for Planning:
I am aware that 2014 has been a year of significant reform in
the planning portfolio. As the year draws to a close, can the minister provide
the house with a summary of the outcomes achieved in planning, and what this
will mean for planning in the years ahead?
1002. Mr J. NORBERGER to the
Minister for Planning:
I am aware that 2014 has been a year of significant reform in
the planning portfolio. As the year draws to a close, can the minister provide
the house with a summary of the outcomes achieved in planning, and what this
will mean for planning in the years ahead?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Certainly, 2014 has been
another very active year in the planning portfolio, with some further
significant reforms put in place and continuing, and a number of significant
decisions made. That progress has only happened, of course, with the advice and
assistance of a large number of people, in this case, in the Department of
Planning, led by the director general appointed not so long ago, Gail McGowan,
and Eric Lumsden, chair of the WA Planning Commission. I thank all the officers
of the department and the Planning Commission and the staff in my own office
for the progress that has been made this year.
Since the government was elected in September 2008, 2 048
planning decisions have been made, including 189 this year. They range from
quite small local areas of rezoned land to major areas of urban expansion, and
provision of industrial land for employment opportunities and to meet urban
infill targets and create parks and recreation reserves. It is interesting to
note that the number of decisions needing to be made is declining, which
reflects significant work within the department, the Planning Commission and
local governments to ensure that planning schemes are more up to date and
responding to population growth pressures.
Approximately 31 700 residential
lots have been the subject of subdivision applications, which is an increase of
about 4 500 compared with 2013. Despite that increase in applications, the
Planning Commission and the department have ensured that demand is met by
conditionally approving close to 29 000 lots, which is an increase of 37 per
cent from last year. It is also interesting to note that the number of
residential lots with conditional subdivision approval has increased from close
to 75 000 to about 82 000 this year.
We have seen the second phase of
planning reform. A discussion paper was put out last year, and the
recommendations that have come out of that process have been adopted and they
will lead to further substantial changes and streamlining of the planning
system, including a revision of the model scheme text and the local planning
scheme regulations, which have been put out for public comment recently. They
will replace the 45-year-old set of town planning regulations that have been in
place up until this point. A number of significant policy documents have also
been put out for public comment—for example, the Burswood peninsula
district structure plan. Improvement plans have been finalised for Middleton
Beach in Albany and Lissiman Street in Gosnells. There has been the adoption of
recommendations from —
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : That sounds like a valedictory, minister.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : No, it is a long way from that. This is only the halfway point
of this period of government, and it is appropriate to reflect on what has been
achieved and look forward to the years ahead.
In relation to the Swan Valley, the
recommendations of the report produced by the department have been adopted, and
ultimately a much better planning system will be in place to protect the
character of and viticulture in the Swan Valley. A range of other documents
have been produced as well. I will not go through all of them, but I will
foreshadow that, in the first half of 2015, we expect to put out for public
comment the draft subregional structure plans for the Perth metropolitan and
Peel regions. They will be very substantial documents and they will lead the
way, under the umbrella of Directions 2031, for the future growth and
development in the Perth and Peel regions over the next two to three decades.
another very active year in the planning portfolio, with some further
significant reforms put in place and continuing, and a number of significant
decisions made. That progress has only happened, of course, with the advice and
assistance of a large number of people, in this case, in the Department of
Planning, led by the director general appointed not so long ago, Gail McGowan,
and Eric Lumsden, chair of the WA Planning Commission. I thank all the officers
of the department and the Planning Commission and the staff in my own office
for the progress that has been made this year.
Since the government was elected in September 2008, 2 048
planning decisions have been made, including 189 this year. They range from
quite small local areas of rezoned land to major areas of urban expansion, and
provision of industrial land for employment opportunities and to meet urban
infill targets and create parks and recreation reserves. It is interesting to
note that the number of decisions needing to be made is declining, which
reflects significant work within the department, the Planning Commission and
local governments to ensure that planning schemes are more up to date and
responding to population growth pressures.
Approximately 31 700 residential
lots have been the subject of subdivision applications, which is an increase of
about 4 500 compared with 2013. Despite that increase in applications, the
Planning Commission and the department have ensured that demand is met by
conditionally approving close to 29 000 lots, which is an increase of 37 per
cent from last year. It is also interesting to note that the number of
residential lots with conditional subdivision approval has increased from close
to 75 000 to about 82 000 this year.
We have seen the second phase of
planning reform. A discussion paper was put out last year, and the
recommendations that have come out of that process have been adopted and they
will lead to further substantial changes and streamlining of the planning
system, including a revision of the model scheme text and the local planning
scheme regulations, which have been put out for public comment recently. They
will replace the 45-year-old set of town planning regulations that have been in
place up until this point. A number of significant policy documents have also
been put out for public comment—for example, the Burswood peninsula
district structure plan. Improvement plans have been finalised for Middleton
Beach in Albany and Lissiman Street in Gosnells. There has been the adoption of
recommendations from —
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : That sounds like a valedictory, minister.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : No, it is a long way from that. This is only the halfway point
of this period of government, and it is appropriate to reflect on what has been
achieved and look forward to the years ahead.
In relation to the Swan Valley, the
recommendations of the report produced by the department have been adopted, and
ultimately a much better planning system will be in place to protect the
character of and viticulture in the Swan Valley. A range of other documents
have been produced as well. I will not go through all of them, but I will
foreshadow that, in the first half of 2015, we expect to put out for public
comment the draft subregional structure plans for the Perth metropolitan and
Peel regions. They will be very substantial documents and they will lead the
way, under the umbrella of Directions 2031, for the future growth and
development in the Perth and Peel regions over the next two to three decades.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.