24th August 2012
NSW needs to follow Queensland’s lead and gazette a temporary Planning Policy that supports economic growth to help the housing and building industry, says the Urban Taskforce Australia.
“The Queensland Government clearly understands that the prosperity of the state is helped by planning policies that ensure economic growth,” says Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson. “But Queensland also understands that they can’t wait too long to refine new planning systems and they have immediately gazetted a Temporary State Planning Policy to get the state moving.”
” The Urban Taskforce is supportive of the NSW Government’s Green Paper on planning reform but it will take two or three years before the various layers of new policy and planning is in place and local plans are in operation.”
” We need an interim planning approach now that facilitates appropriate development and cuts through our complex planning system.”
” NSW cannot sit back and wait for a new act as we are producing only half the number of new houses being produced in Victoria on a per capita basis. The measures adopted by the state budget are a positive step in the right direction but it is still the planning system that is slowing down development in NSW.
“We need a sense of urgency in NSW to help the construction and development industry now. The Queensland Minister for Planning’s statement about the new policy should be adopted here where he said…”Its aim is to speed – not impede – development”.
“The temporary policy can be used over a twelve to eighteen month period as a trial for many of the proposals within the Green Paper. This should begin with the gazettal of the new act in March next year.
