❓ The Minister for Planning responds to a question about housing development reforms, highlighting the government's efforts to streamline processes and accusing the Liberal party of blocking housing projects, specifically citing a deferred structure plan in the City of Swan.
AnsweredQoN 547Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
547. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Minister for Planning:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's planning reforms to support the delivery of more housing
and essential community infrastructure.
(1) Can the minister update the
house on what these reforms will mean for Western Australia?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether he is aware of anyone who is delaying the
development of new housing and other essential infrastructure?
547. Ms J.J. SHAW to the Minister for Planning:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's planning reforms to support the delivery of more housing
and essential community infrastructure.
(1) Can the minister update the
house on what these reforms will mean for Western Australia?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house whether he is aware of anyone who is delaying the
development of new housing and other essential infrastructure?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for her question and her passion for developing affordable and
community housing in her electorate. As we have said, our message is very
clear. We are doing everything we can to accelerate the delivery of housing.
That includes nation-leading planning reforms. It is already recognised that we
are leading the country in cutting red tape and streamlining processes. Only
recently The West Australian re ported
on that left-wing organisation called the Institute of Public Affairs—that
socialist, communist hub , which, as
members know, is committed to economic and personal freedom! I, too, share
that. Thanks, Dylan; a great reporter at The West . Hello. The article is
headed ''WA best place to do business''. I am summarising, but it
says that out of five metrics, Western Australia is the nation's most
business-friendly state. One of those
metrics was dealing with development applications. Western Australia was ranked
first for development applications.
It is clear that across the country people are looking at Western Australia's
planning reforms.
Local government still has a role to
play, and it provides referral advice, which is the case for structure plans. I note that structure plans, for those who
do not find planning sexy like I do, is about the strategic overview to release
more land for housing and development. Last night, the City of Swan council
considered the Brabham stage 3 local structure plan. Part of that is land that
is zoned urban under the metropolitan region scheme. The structure plan was to
provide 43 hectares of land for housing, with an estimated yield of 1 500
residential dwellings housing around 4 200 Western Australians, 17 hectares of
public open space, conservation gains and also an eight-hectare site for a high
school. This is critical. The planning expertise recommended, with some minor
changes, that the council should endorse the structure plan and refer it to the
Western Australian Planning Commission. What happened? The council ignored that
expert advice. It deferred this critical plan for more housing and said that
the council could do better. Who is the ringleader? It is the perennial Liberal losing candidate, Rod
Henderson. We love Rod! The consistent Liberal candidate is out there blocking housing and blocking a high
school. The shadow Minister for Housing, Hon Steve Martin , said that the only solution was to produce more
dwellings. He said that a Liberal government would prioritise creating
more housing stock, yet everywhere we look there are Liberals, Liberal Party
activists and consistently losing
Liberal candidates who are out there blocking housing development in Western Australia.
Whether it is blocking housing, blocking public primary schools or shutting
down women's shelters, it is very clear that the Liberal candidates,
former candidates and activists have no commitment to accelerating the delivery
of housing in Western Australia. It is only a Labor government and members on
this side of the house who continue to demonstrate, with endorsement from very
right-wing institutes, that we are getting on with the job of streamlining and
cutting red tape for housing in Western Australia.
thank the member for her question and her passion for developing affordable and
community housing in her electorate. As we have said, our message is very
clear. We are doing everything we can to accelerate the delivery of housing.
That includes nation-leading planning reforms. It is already recognised that we
are leading the country in cutting red tape and streamlining processes. Only
recently The West Australian re ported
on that left-wing organisation called the Institute of Public Affairs—that
socialist, communist hub , which, as
members know, is committed to economic and personal freedom! I, too, share
that. Thanks, Dylan; a great reporter at The West . Hello. The article is
headed ''WA best place to do business''. I am summarising, but it
says that out of five metrics, Western Australia is the nation's most
business-friendly state. One of those
metrics was dealing with development applications. Western Australia was ranked
first for development applications.
It is clear that across the country people are looking at Western Australia's
planning reforms.
Local government still has a role to
play, and it provides referral advice, which is the case for structure plans. I note that structure plans, for those who
do not find planning sexy like I do, is about the strategic overview to release
more land for housing and development. Last night, the City of Swan council
considered the Brabham stage 3 local structure plan. Part of that is land that
is zoned urban under the metropolitan region scheme. The structure plan was to
provide 43 hectares of land for housing, with an estimated yield of 1 500
residential dwellings housing around 4 200 Western Australians, 17 hectares of
public open space, conservation gains and also an eight-hectare site for a high
school. This is critical. The planning expertise recommended, with some minor
changes, that the council should endorse the structure plan and refer it to the
Western Australian Planning Commission. What happened? The council ignored that
expert advice. It deferred this critical plan for more housing and said that
the council could do better. Who is the ringleader? It is the perennial Liberal losing candidate, Rod
Henderson. We love Rod! The consistent Liberal candidate is out there blocking housing and blocking a high
school. The shadow Minister for Housing, Hon Steve Martin , said that the only solution was to produce more
dwellings. He said that a Liberal government would prioritise creating
more housing stock, yet everywhere we look there are Liberals, Liberal Party
activists and consistently losing
Liberal candidates who are out there blocking housing development in Western Australia.
Whether it is blocking housing, blocking public primary schools or shutting
down women's shelters, it is very clear that the Liberal candidates,
former candidates and activists have no commitment to accelerating the delivery
of housing in Western Australia. It is only a Labor government and members on
this side of the house who continue to demonstrate, with endorsement from very
right-wing institutes, that we are getting on with the job of streamlining and
cutting red tape for housing in Western Australia.
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.