Queensland planning reforms before parliament

Queensland planning reforms before parliamentThe Queensland Government has introduced legislation into parliament as part of its sweeping reforms to improve planning in the state.Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney introduced the Planning and Development Bill 2014 and the Planning and Environment Court Bill 2014 into parliament last week. The focus is on delivering economic growth and offering greater development opportunities.”Our Liberal National Party Government wants Queensland’s planning system to be the best in the nation and these bills provide the foundation to deliver that,” he said.”Clearer, less complicated planning laws will reduce the regulatory burden for Queenslanders and help to build on the renewed vigour we have seen in the construction sector and provide new jobs.”The Property Council’s Queensland division has been heavily involved in the reform consultation process over the past 18 months that has culminated in the Planning and Development Bill now before the parliament.”In 2012 the Development Assessment Forum’s Report Card rated Queensland’s planning system as the worst in mainland Australia,” said Queensland executive director of the Property Council, Chris Mountford.”This ranking was the catalyst for the Government’s decision to undertake a major overhaul of the state’s planning laws.” Mountford said that, when coupled with other government initiatives such as the State Assessment and Referral Agency, the legislation could significantly simplify and streamline Queensland’s cumbersome planning system.”However, fixing the planning laws is only part of the challenge,” Mountford said.”Critical to the success of the state’s reform agenda will be whether or not the changes are embraced and implemented by local governments.”There is no doubt that the state will need to allocate resources to support councils to implement the new regime.”Seeney said the Planning and Development Bill 2014 would significantly simplify Queensland’s planning and development system and improve upon the cumbersome Sustainable Planning Act 2009 in various ways, including:simplifying plan-making arrangements to ensure time and costs are reduced for proponentsreducing red tape by halving the number of state planning instruments from four to tworemoving prescriptive detail and obsolete and redundant provisions, andadjusting the balance of responsibilities between state and local governments.