Parliamentary Committees

Environment, Resources and Development Committee: Report 2018-19

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (16:50): I move:

That the report of the Fifty-Fourth Parliament, 3 May 2018 to 30 June 2019, of the committee be noted.

South Australia is in the process of implementing the biggest overhaul of its planning system in more than 20 years. The major focus for the Environment, Resources and Development Committee during the Fifty-Fourth Parliament has been in the oversight of these planning reforms. This report, which primarily covers the period from the commencement of this parliament to 30 June 2019, outlines the significant work undertaken by the committee in the review of designated instruments as they are rolled out under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act. This includes the centrepiece of this reform, the Planning and Design Code, which will ultimately replace the state's 72 development plans with one single interactive e-planning system by July 2020.

The scrutiny of development plan amendments has been a significant part of the work of the committee since 1993, with 31 development plans considered since the commencement of the new parliament to 30 June 2019. This number is likely to increase in the next financial year before development plans are fully replaced by the Planning and Design Code in July 2020, marking the end of an era for both the Environment, Resources and Development Committee and the state's planning system.

The committee has reviewed phase 1 of the Planning and Design Code (the outback code) for land not within a council area and recommended to the Minister for Planning a number of changes, many of which are reflected in phases 2 and 3 of the code. The committee continues to monitor phases 2 and 3, as they are currently out for public consultation, and will complete its formal statutory function of scrutiny under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act in two phases next year.

In addition to the Planning and Design Code, the committee has been referred five other instruments for scrutiny by the Minister for Planning. The most significant of these was the State Planning Policies, a suite of policies that provide the overarching framework for the new planning system. All bar one of the committee's recommended changes to the State Planning Policies were accepted by the Minister for Planning, with these changes incorporated into the amended State Planning Policies and published in the Government Gazette on 23 May 2019.

The committee commenced and completed an inquiry into heritage reform, publishing its final report on 30 April this year. The community response and engagement with this inquiry was significant, with 144 written submissions and 29 witness hearings. The Minister for Environment and Water and the Minister for Planning jointly responded to the committee's recommendations on 26 September, supporting four out of the five recommendations either fully or in part.

The transition of heritage to the Planning and Design Code will continue to be monitored by the committee, with both ministers undertaking to report back to the houses in relation to a staged approach to heritage reform by July 2020 in accordance with the committee's recommendations. Following the heritage inquiry, the committee commenced an inquiry into the recycling industry; 53 written submissions have been received and public hearings have commenced. The committee has visited recycling sites in the northern metropolitan area and Whyalla and will conduct further hearings and site visits before reporting to parliament next year.

I would like to thank my fellow committee members and extend thanks on behalf of the committee to everyone who has prepared submissions, presented evidence and provided guidance to the committee. This engagement with stakeholders and the community is key to the effective work of the committee, helping its members to understand and inform themselves firsthand of the issues from many perspectives.

I would like to thank the presiding member, Mr Adrian Pederick; the Hon. Tung Ngo and the Hon. Mark Parnell from this place; the member for MacKillop, Mr Nick McBride; and the member for Playford, Mr Michael Brown, for their work on the committee. I also thank our dedicated staff, Ms Joanne Fleer and Dr Merry Brown. I indicate, in commending this motion to the chamber, that I will bring it to a vote on the next Wednesday of sitting, 27 November.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.