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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-10-29 Daily Xml
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PLANNING COLLABORATION

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning, representing the Premier and in his own right, a question about planning collaboration.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: I understand that councils within the Central Local Government Region have called on the Premier to focus greater attention on reducing the government's individual and ad hoc planning, committee and consultation efforts in favour of a more integrated, streamlined and collaborative approach. Councils in the region noted that the lack of alignment and coordinated effort by agencies is also leading to a growing weariness and disengagement by key community leaders and volunteers, including those involved in local councils. These people are continually called upon by different agencies to be part of more and more committees, planning and consultation efforts that inevitably focus on but rarely resolve the same community issues.

The councils noted that South Australia's Strategic Plan, the South Australian infrastructure plan, the South Australian planning strategy, the Department of Trade and Economic Development regional blueprint, the regional Water for Good plan, the SA water regional water supply and demand plan, the regional zone Emergency Management Plan and the regional bushfire management plan are all being prepared or reviewed in isolation from one another. These are in addition to the existing regional planning and consultation processes being undertaken through the likes of the relevant Regional Development Australia board and the local natural resources management board. My questions are:

1. What action will the government take to address the concerns about growing weariness and disengagement by key community leaders and volunteers?

2. Will the government consider charging the regional coordination networks with eliminating the overlap and ensuring the best information is gained from these planning processes?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:13): One of the key focuses of this government has been to try to coordinate planning better. Of course, in the city we have the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, which I think is fairly original and unique, in that it does try to tie together a number of aspects of planning. The fact is that you would have to go back to the 1960s to find an era when we actually had a plan at all for Adelaide, let alone one that was trying to coordinate the various agencies of government.

The government has established the government planning coordinating council, which represents all the chief executives of not just government departments but agencies such as the EPA and other like bodies, so that issues in relation to planning can be coordinated. I believe that group is working very well. That is why, in relation to the implementation of the 30-year plan, there is a lot of consideration given right across government about the necessary infrastructure issues and other aspects. In relation to integrated planning itself, the government has received a grant of $1 million from the commonwealth government.

The city and the adjacent seven councils have all been involved in trying to integrate planning for the city and the surrounding neighbourhoods because, again, that has just not happened in the past. This government is well aware of the need to have this greater integration of planning and not just in the city, with the program I just mentioned, but right across the greater Adelaide metropolitan area and in regional areas. That is why we have also been looking at regional plans. Given that this is a new emphasis for the government, I would not claim that the process was yet perfect and that we are doing everything that might be done, but I argue that we have made great strides in moving towards better coordination and integration of planning.


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