LGAT Submission - Development Assessment Panels Bill 2024
On behalf of Tasmanian councils, we’ve provided initial feedback on the proposed Land Use Planning and Approvals Amendment (Development Assessment Panels) Bill 2024. A formal policy position will be ratified at our upcoming General Meeting on 21 November.
We believe the proposal presented by this Bill is a flawed approach that only applies to superficial aspects of Tasmania’s planning system, diverting precious planning resources away from more impactful reform options.
The State Government has painted the reform as “taking the politics out of planning”, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Beyond some broad public statements by the Minister, no evidence has been presented by the Government to support the changes proposed in the Bill.
Our submission points out that the foundations of this planning system are either outdated or simply don’t exist. For example, the promised Tasmanian Planning Policies have not been implemented and the Regional Land Strategies have still not been updated, despite our sector and planning professionals calling for these to prioritised by the State Government. Tasmania is also one of the few states without an infrastructure delivery system in place, which would equitably share the cost of infrastructure between developers and therefore accelerate development. Despite our years of advocacy on this issue, the State Government has failed to support this simple solution.
It is unclear to us why the State Government has chosen to attack the local government sector instead of taking a collaborative approach to improve our planning system. Especially when the data shows that councils are delivering development application decisions faster than every other state and territory, with over 95% of these applications being approved. Additionally, according to the Future of Local Government Review Board, only around one per cent of discretionary applications are appealed.
Our submission highlights specific issues with the Bill, including:
- The proposed referral triggers
- The lack of explicitly identified assessment criteria
- The inconsistent allowances and timeframes for a proposal to be considered by the Panel versus a development application assessed by a council
- The ability for a development application to switch processes part way through being assessed.
If the State Government is serious about supporting development in Tasmania, we suggest they focus on the following:
- Properly resourcing the State Planning Office
- Working constructively with councils who are development regulation experts
- Helping to build communities understanding of growth.
Our councils have spoken loud and clear – they want meaningful action on planning, not a superficial response to a minority of development issues.