Planning Reform

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform) (14:14): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Reform of the state's planning system is a key component of our strategy to grow the economy by making South Australia the best place to do business. Later today, I will give notice of my intent to introduce a bill to substantially rewrite the Development Act. This is the beginning of the implementation phase of the work of the Expert Panel on Planning Reform.

Over the last three years, a series of targeted reforms have clearly demonstrated the way planning reform can provide targeted stimulus to the economy. Be it reform delivered in partnership with the Adelaide City Council to grow a more vibrant city centre or our inner and middle-metro growth project or our Coordinator-General package of case management, we have demonstrated an outstanding capacity to support the development sector and improve design outcomes and housing choice.

Now it is time to deliver this kind of reform across the state and throughout the system. While we have a planning system with some policy levers to enable economic growth, these levers alone are increasingly not enough. There is always capacity to improve to ensure that the planning system meets our contemporary and future needs. Calls for this planning reform have come from far and wide.

The government believes our planning system must be the most competitive in the nation if we are to attract and retain the investment we need to provide jobs and services for future generations of South Australians. Our reform of the planning system will further unlock potential to drive economic growth. More than that, it will be sufficiently robust to form part of our government's action to combat climate change through promoting the right kind of development in the right places. It will support the development of more active, healthy and vibrant neighbourhoods through the promotion of high-quality design solutions. It will support a better mix of housing options to provide the market with quality, affordable housing and living.

We will unlock growth potential by offering flexible options to fund infrastructure and to reduce the price to homebuyers by spreading payments over time. We are proud to have had a good system; now is the time to make it outstanding. Put simply, it should be the best and we should work to keep it the best.

With more than 23,000 pages of regulation in our system, it should not be surprising that over 90 per cent of development applications are forced to go through the most onerous and lengthy assessment process. That is why, two years ago, we launched a comprehensive review of our planning system. It is to the great credit of all with an interest in the planning system that there has been widespread and constructive engagement on this important issue.

We gave the Expert Panel on Planning Reform, which led the process at arm's length from government, a mandate to examine every aspect of the planning system. The panel's final report, The Planning System We Want, contains ideas that form the basis of this planning reform. The final report does not shy away from inconvenient truths, it presents a platform for reform that few parliaments are afforded.

This is an opportunity to introduce profound changes to the planning system to meet contemporary needs. Reforming our planning system goes beyond legislation though a new act will, of course, be the centrepiece of the reform. While we believe these reforms will be welcomed by households looking for certainty when they engage with the planning system and by the building industry looking to reduce holding, assessment and approval costs, we also believe the focus on up-front engagement when planning policies are set will produce better outcomes for our communities.

Our work aims to ensure Adelaide continues to build on its standing as one of the world's great cities in which to live and work. Over the coming months, the department will engage in a comprehensive campaign to ensure councils, business, professional and community groups have access to details of the bill. Workshops and events with councils, planning professionals, community and business groups will enable this parliament to engage with these groups.