State planning policies are incorporated into all municipal planning schemes. Our overall concern is that this review, as with the Planning & Environment Act Review and other changes to the planning regime over the last decade, has weakened planning controls in the short-term economic interest.
However, in the face of the current drivers of population growth, peak oil and climate change (chronic or worsening drought, bushfires and water shortages), any planning system that can cope with these scenarios will need to be MORE prescriptive and more reflective of specific government long-term policies to direct development/regeneration/new infrastructure to where it’s needed to build a more functional, livable, sustainable city.
Read SOS comments on the SPPF Review