2015-06-29 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                            29 JUNE 2015


Government Priority                                                                  Comment

Moving the establishment and jurisdiction of the court to specific courts            Seems reasonable.
legislation, along with procedural rules and fee regulation

Introducing exemption certificates that, in certain limited circumstances, exempt    Seems reasonable, provided there are clear rules for exemption certificates, and
inappropriately categorised development                                              the decision able to be appealed by the applicant and residents

Engaging local government and industry about the best method to ensure an            Planning schemes need to be able to show best possible hazard mapping
appropriate degree of safeguard for councils from claims for compensation            without an obligation to compensate land owners for any resultant change of
regarding natural hazards risk management, where a scheme amendment is               value or additional costs (e.g. insurance premiums).
made to reduce the risk to persons or property from natural processes, including
flooding, bushfires, landslides or coastal erosion

Retaining the local government designation process using a planning scheme           Agreed although we have not used it.
amendment under specific procedural arrangements included under the
guideline for making or amending planning schemes

Extending the current statutory timeframe for the making of a local government       Agreed, many Councils will not be in a position to have a LGIP in place by June
infrastructure plan (LGIP) by a further two years, subject to an approved LGIP       2016. The process for having a LGIP in place by June 2016 is highly onerous
preparation program                                                                  particularly in light of the fact we will be starting work on a new planning scheme
                                                                                     in 2016 and potentially doing consultation on that in mid-late 2016.
Working with local government to identify the assistance required to implement       Assistance would be appreciated in transitioning a planning scheme, adopting
the new planning reform legislation, including support such as tools, training and   new forms and processes, training staff, Councillors and local development
guidance                                                                             sector, and engaging resources to modify electronic development assessment
                                                                                     systems.
                                                                                     Many Councils utilise a development assessment system which is fully computer
                                                                                     based and are totally reliant on it in assessing development applications.
                                                                                     Modifying this system to make it consistent with the new planning reform
                                                                                     legislation will require significant resources and time to prepare and implement.
                                                                                     The suggestion from the DILGP is that State support would be prioritised to
                                                                                     smaller Councils with fewer resources to set up their own systems or run their
                                                                                     own training.




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