PLANNING IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (14:26): My question is to the Minister for Planning. What progress has been made in the Planning Improvement Project?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:26): I thank the honourable member for that very important question. The Planning Improvement Project is about to reach a very important milestone. As members might recall, we have established an expert panel on planning reform which is chaired by Mr Brian Hayes QC.

Brian is a very distinguished person in South Australia's legal profession and, indeed, he is also the pre-eminent planning lawyer in South Australia and has been for decades. I hope he does not mind me saying that. In any event, this project is about to launch an extensive community engagement program. This will identify key issues and questions about our planning system that will drive further consideration by the panel about planning reforms.

Individual planning members will be holding briefing sessions for councils in Naracoorte, Port Augusta and Adelaide on 6, 8 and 15 August. All elected members from each of South Australia's 68 councils are welcome to attend these sessions and learn more about the role and work of the panel, and to participate in a question and answer session with panel members.

These initial information sessions will be followed by an extensive council, agency and community engagement program, with an extensive program of workshops across regional and metropolitan Adelaide in August and September. Members opposite, in particular, might be interested to know that workshops are scheduled to be held in the following places shortly: Port Lincoln, Loxton, Murray Bridge, Mount Gambier, Clare and—are you Goolwa, member for Finniss?

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The member for Hammond, you are getting two in your electorate. These workshops will build on briefings and workshops that the panel has run through July for stakeholder groups, including the Planning Institute of Australia, the Housing Industry Association, the Urban Development Institute of Australia, Community Alliance, Conservation Council, Adelaide City Council and Property Council.

These sessions will be continuing and will be built on the partnerships the panel has developed through its planning reform reference group. The independence of the panel is of paramount importance, and their schedule of work to liaise directly with communities and councils through the state as they determine the key issues and questions that they will consider over the course of the reform program is commendable. The panel has a strong commitment to working with groups and people with an interest in the planning system to determine what the problems are before they begin to discuss the potential solutions.

I also commend the panel's intention to engage with stakeholder councils, agencies and the wider community at each stage of its process as they develop the key questions and issues and options for reform and, finally, as they determine what a future planning system for South Australia should look like. I am confident the panel's final report to government and parliament in 2014 will be the result of extensive community engagement and working partnerships with a range of stakeholders. It will reflect their independent view on planning that will best provide our state with a prosperous and sustainable future.

I look forward to inviting the expert panel to provide a further briefing to interested members of parliament after the winter break to further update all members on the important work they are doing and further progress. For further information, anybody wishing to pursue it can please look at thinkdesigndeliver.sa.gov.au.