2015-10-13 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                         13 OCTOBER 2015


                                                                      ATTACHMENT 1

Review of Draft Planning Bill 2015_Chapter 4 Infrastructure
Part 2 Provisions for local governments
Clause 110 Regulation prescribing charges: Item (2)&(3): and
Clause 112 Contents—general: Item (4)(b)(ii) & (5)
  Indexation is an ongoing issue since the Minister has not changed the maximum amount
  since its introduction in June 2011 yet costs for providing infrastructure have continually
  increased and offsets for trunk infrastructure are subjected to actual costs.
  Also, the proposal should a change to the charge ever occur, is convoluted and over
  complicated. The maximum charges per the SPRP or new Regulation should simply be
  applied from a base date and then simply indexed by an appropriate ABS QLD index
  such as CPI or Road & Bridge index from the base date to the date of issue and to the
  date payment is made.
  Normal indexation of contributions/charges has been standard practice in the past for
  many years both in government & in private industry contracts.
  This issue has been raised to the State on many previous occasions with no rectification
  to date (i.e. the Community is further subsidising development in this regard).
Clause 111 Adopting charges by resolution
  Item (3)(a) – Concern is raised on potential legal implications in changing from: “land” to
  “premises”.
  Item (3)(c) - Appears to be simply changing the legislation location where charges don’t
  apply to designated land i.e. SPA 205 however, the wording could have additional
  consequences where charges may now not apply as it could possibly be also designating
  a department rather just relating to the land?
Clause 117 When charge may be levied and recovered
  Item (3)(b) - Should change 10 days to 20 days so as to match (c) & (d) & (8)(b)for
  consistency.
  Item (12)(b) – A charge is often not paid by an applicant who may be just acting for a
  client and having no further involvement in the development from when an approval may
  be given. Also for recovery, a charge is a Rate whereby payment is ultimately obtained
  from the owner of the land. This has the potential to cause additional difficulty should
  recovery action have to be taken.
  Suggest change to: is payable by a payer with the ultimate responsibility for payment
  lying with the land owner. (refer to definition of payer in Schedule 1).
  Item (12)(c) – Concern is raised on potential legal implications in changing from: attaches
  to the “land” to “premises”;
  i.e. per section 142 (1) A levied charge is, for the purpose of its recovery, taken to be
  rates of the local government that levied the charge. Where a Rate is a charge against
  the Land & not a premises refer Local Government Act 2009 clause 93.




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