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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-17 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

PLANNING REFORM

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:27): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The Rann government has decided to embark on the broadest range of planning reforms seen in South Australia in decades. These reforms will build on the current strengths of the South Australian planning system to deliver the most efficient and effective assessment and approval process in the nation.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The reforms will deliver major economic benefits for the state, slash delays and costs for home and renovation approvals, and provide strong, sustainable directions for the growth and development of Adelaide and the regions.

This government's aim is to create a planning system that equips South Australia to better meet the challenges of climate change and improve management of our water resources to help us make the most of existing and new investments in infrastructure, including the transport revolution that will electrify rail services and extend the tram service from Glenelg to Semaphore.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: You promised that one, too, did you? This government aims to create a planning system that will help improve home affordability, improve the amenity of our suburbs, help guarantee future economic prosperity and ensure that all South Australian's have the opportunity to benefit from the future economic growth.

The key elements of the government's planning and development reform strategy comprise:

a 30-year plan to properly manage Adelaide's growth and development;

a huge investment in building efficient transport corridors to encourage the creation of new commuter-friendly neighbourhoods within existing suburbs;

a 25-year rolling supply of broadacre land to meet the residential, commercial and industrial needs of the growing population and expanding economy;

simplified and faster assessment of new housing and home renovations; and

five regional plans to help guide the development of the state outside of Adelaide.

KPMG suggests that these sweeping reforms to the planning system could add about $5 billion to gross state product within five years by attracting people and jobs to South Australia. The reforms will encourage transit-oriented development and high-density and well-designed neighbourhoods to be located along Adelaide's enhanced train, tram and bus corridors. Walkable neighbourhoods will help reduce Adelaide's reliance on cars at a time of rising fuel prices, foster greater public use of the government's expanded public transport network, and create energy and water-efficient communities within existing suburbs.

None of this would have been possible without the revolutionary changes to South Australia's train, tram and bus networks announced two weeks ago in the government's state budget. The development assessment process will be streamlined by broadening the range of developments that will no longer require planning approval and by the introduction next year of a residential development code.

By removing minor matters from the planning system and reducing the number of referrals between agencies, assessment times for family homes and renovations could be slashed by nearly 70 per cent. That will take the lead out of the saddlebags of our current planning system and reduce the mortgage costs and additional rent that homeowners are forced to pay as they wait—often for far too long—to move into their new homes. The decision to streamline assessments is alone estimated to yield a total interest saving on mortgages of up to $5,500 for each application.

The South Australian community will be consulted during the next three months to determine the content of this residential development code, which will come into force from next March. The government will also adopt a strategy for the timely release of adequate land for residential, commercial and industrial use to better meet an expected rise in demand from an expanding economy and a growing population. This sequencing will involve the introduction of a 25-year rolling supply of broadacre land, with 15 years of zone supply at all times for residential, commercial and industrial land. Other measures to improve land supply and land use include careful expansion of Adelaide's urban growth boundary and fast-tracking of rezoning.

I take this opportunity to thank the planning and development steering committee for its work on the review I commissioned a year ago, which has provided the guiding framework for the reforms I have outlined today.

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