Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-11 Daily Xml

Contents

Question Time

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question about the report provided to the minister by the Planning and Development Review Steering Committee.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I refer to Appendix G of the report presented to the minister by the Planning and Development Review Steering Committee containing the quantification of the potential benefits of the planning reforms. I note that Appendix G contains statements about the costs of administering the current system and the estimated savings to local government of adopting the review team's recommended reforms.

I recall that the estimates of savings were in the order of $75.6 million to applicants and local government, leading to an approximate increase of $3.5 billion to $5 billion in gross state product over the next five years. My questions are: can the minister confirm the quantum of the estimated savings and economic benefits documented in the report; and can the minister outline the methodology used by the review team in arriving at this level of savings and increases in gross state product?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:37): Those calculations were made by KPMG who, of course, were lead consultants to the review. As I have said on previous occasions, whatever methodology was used, even if the figure were half that, it would still be a very significant contribution to GSP. I have just given notice of the fact that I will introduce a bill in the council tomorrow, and part of that bill will define estimates of those particular savings to applicants, to local government and also to the economy at large. Obviously those figures were calculated by the methodology that KPMG employed.