❓ A WA parliamentary question addresses the lack of third-party appeal rights under the Planning and Development Act 2005, following a SAT judgement. The Minister acknowledges the issue but has no plans to introduce such rights, citing existing public consultation processes and a desire to streamline planning approvals.
AnsweredQoN 745Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the rights of aggrieved third parties under the
Planning and Development Act 2005,
-
(1) Is the Minister aware that, -
(a) following the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) judgement in Nicholls and City of Mandurah [2008] WASAT 141 of 24 June 2008, s.211 of the
Planning and Development Act 2005
cannot be used to overturn an existing approval by a local Government on the basis of third party representations;
(b) local communities in Western Australia are now left with no practical avenue of appeal under the
Planning and Development Act 2005
against local planning decisions in their region that have failed to effectively observe a local planning scheme and/or State planning policies; and
(c) Western Australia is now the only Australian jurisdiction where an aggrieved third party has no appeal rights in State planning law?
(2) Is the Minister planning a review of the
Planning and Development Act 2005
?
(3) If yes to (2), -
(a) when will this review be carried out; and
(b) will the Minister ensure that third party appeal rights are considered as part of that review?
(4) If no to (2), -
(a) why not; and
(b) will the Minister consider bringing amendments to the
Planning and Development Act 2005
to allow appeals by third parties?
(5) If no to (4), why not?
(6) If yes to (4), when will those amendments be introduced?
Planning and Development Act 2005,
-
(1) Is the Minister aware that, -
(a) following the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) judgement in Nicholls and City of Mandurah [2008] WASAT 141 of 24 June 2008, s.211 of the
Planning and Development Act 2005
cannot be used to overturn an existing approval by a local Government on the basis of third party representations;
(b) local communities in Western Australia are now left with no practical avenue of appeal under the
Planning and Development Act 2005
against local planning decisions in their region that have failed to effectively observe a local planning scheme and/or State planning policies; and
(c) Western Australia is now the only Australian jurisdiction where an aggrieved third party has no appeal rights in State planning law?
(2) Is the Minister planning a review of the
Planning and Development Act 2005
?
(3) If yes to (2), -
(a) when will this review be carried out; and
(b) will the Minister ensure that third party appeal rights are considered as part of that review?
(4) If no to (2), -
(a) why not; and
(b) will the Minister consider bringing amendments to the
Planning and Development Act 2005
to allow appeals by third parties?
(5) If no to (4), why not?
(6) If yes to (4), when will those amendments be introduced?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
3 June 2009
Responded by
Minister for Child Protection representing the Minister for Planning
Response time
15 days
(1) (a-c) No loss of rights has resulted from the decision of
Nicholls v City of Mandurah
[2008] WASAT 141 as third party appeal rights are not contemplated in the
Planning and Development Act 2005
. Section 211 (and section 18 of the
Town Planning and Development Act 1928
which preceded it
)
has never purported to grant any appeal rights to third parties. Instead, section 211 allows affected members of the public to make representations to the Minister for Planning to draw the Minister's attention to the failure of a local government to enforce its local planning scheme or execute required works. The Minister has the discretion to refer the representations to SAT for its report and recommendations, and, following the Tribunal's report, may order the local government to do things necessary to enforce the observance of its scheme.
(2) The
Planning and Development Act 2005
has been reviewed in relation to minor errors which occurred during the consolidation of the previous planning legislation. No formal review of the
Planning and Development Act 2005
is proposed. However, the Department for Planning and Infrastructure is investigating a range of reforms, as set out in the recent "Building a Better Planning System" discussion paper. The outcome of the public consultation on this discussion paper is likely to be a series of proposals for planning reform, including some legislative amendments to the
Planning and Development Act 2005
.
(3) (a-b)Refer (2) above.
(4) (a) Answered above at (2) - the Department for Planning and Infrastructure is investigating a range of reforms targeted at streamlining and improving the planning system under the
Planning and Development Act 2005
. While this is not a formal review, it will involve a review of particular provisions of the Act.
(b) The Government does not currently have any plans to introduce third party appeal rights in Western Australia.
(5) The Government does not believe that the introduction of third party appeal rights in Western Australia is consistent with current attempts to simplify and streamline the planning approvals process. The
Planning and Development Act 2005
requires public consultation in relation to the planning framework established in local and regional areas, with public consultation mandated for local and region planning scheme amendments, as well as State Planning Policies, local planning policies and structure plans. As such, the Government believes that the current planning process provides sufficient opportunity for the local community to have a say in what happens in their neighbourhoods.
(6) Refer (5) above.
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Nicholls v City of Mandurah
[2008] WASAT 141 as third party appeal rights are not contemplated in the
Planning and Development Act 2005
. Section 211 (and section 18 of the
Town Planning and Development Act 1928
which preceded it
)
has never purported to grant any appeal rights to third parties. Instead, section 211 allows affected members of the public to make representations to the Minister for Planning to draw the Minister's attention to the failure of a local government to enforce its local planning scheme or execute required works. The Minister has the discretion to refer the representations to SAT for its report and recommendations, and, following the Tribunal's report, may order the local government to do things necessary to enforce the observance of its scheme.
(2) The
Planning and Development Act 2005
has been reviewed in relation to minor errors which occurred during the consolidation of the previous planning legislation. No formal review of the
Planning and Development Act 2005
is proposed. However, the Department for Planning and Infrastructure is investigating a range of reforms, as set out in the recent "Building a Better Planning System" discussion paper. The outcome of the public consultation on this discussion paper is likely to be a series of proposals for planning reform, including some legislative amendments to the
Planning and Development Act 2005
.
(3) (a-b)Refer (2) above.
(4) (a) Answered above at (2) - the Department for Planning and Infrastructure is investigating a range of reforms targeted at streamlining and improving the planning system under the
Planning and Development Act 2005
. While this is not a formal review, it will involve a review of particular provisions of the Act.
(b) The Government does not currently have any plans to introduce third party appeal rights in Western Australia.
(5) The Government does not believe that the introduction of third party appeal rights in Western Australia is consistent with current attempts to simplify and streamline the planning approvals process. The
Planning and Development Act 2005
requires public consultation in relation to the planning framework established in local and regional areas, with public consultation mandated for local and region planning scheme amendments, as well as State Planning Policies, local planning policies and structure plans. As such, the Government believes that the current planning process provides sufficient opportunity for the local community to have a say in what happens in their neighbourhoods.
(6) Refer (5) above.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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