GOING GOING GONE The diminishing role of Local Government in Queenslands planning system

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GOING GOING GONE?The diminishing role of
Local Government in Queenslands planning system

• Troy Webb, Senior Associate

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Overview

• Early planning system
• 1990s local government still holding on
• Introduction of IPA
• Regional plans introduced
• Regional local governments, Urban Land
  Development Authority and development assessment
  panels

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Early planning system

• Local government set policies and made decisions
• Planning schemes
• Land development
• Opening of new roads
• Subdivisions
• Originally appeal to the Minister, then Local
  Government Court
• Why did we start to move away from this model?

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1990s

• Local Government (Planning and Environment) Act
  1990 commenced
• Planning and Environment Court
• State government involvement
• New ability to make State Planning Policies
• Governor-in-council approved planning scheme
  amendments
• BUT extensive local government power remained.

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Integrated Planning Act 1997

• Overhaul of planning system
• State involvement through concurrence agencies
• State development able to avoid normal IPA
  processes (e.g. designation for community
  infrastructure)
• Minister able to call in development
  applications

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Regional planning

• IPA amended to allow for regional plans
• Draft regulatory provisions
• South-East Queensland Regional Plan took effect
  in 2005
• Categorised land and prohibited subdivision in
  some cases
• Planning schemes required to be amended
  accordingly

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Blood on the tracks

• Chang v Laidley demonstrated the cloak local
  government required to implement and defend State
  policy
• Inability of local government to assess
  development application on merits in some cases
• Impacts on ability to claim compensation

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2007 - R.I.P local government as we know it!

• Local Government Reform Implementation Act 2007
• 157 local governments 73

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Urban Land Development Authority Act 2007

• Allows for urban areas to be declared
  (Northshore Hamilton Bowen Hills)
• Authority decides development applications thru
  fast-track process
• Extensive powers and largely unaccountable
• Concerns about process and qualifications of
  Authority members

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2008 - Development assessment panels

• Iconic Queensland Places Act 2008
• Ad hoc approach to solve Douglas/Noosa situation
• First introduction of development assessment
  panel in Qld
• Development assessment panels
• Make referral decision
• Can decide application instead of local
  government
• Qualifications and experience are questionable

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Local government vs assessment panels
?
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Property Council vs LGAQ

• Property Council
• Development assessment panels - enable efficient
  and independent assessment
• Believes development assessment panels removed
  last minute interference of local politics in
  the process
• LGAQ
• Only 1.6 of local government decisions vary from
  planning recommendation - less involve
  ministerial intervention
• Development assessment panels are a smokescreen
  to justify the removal of the ability for local
  communities to decide what is best for them

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Conclusions

• Traditional local government role has been
  increasingly eroded over time, with major changes
  coming about in the last 12 months
• State government edging its way into both the
  development planning and assessment arenas
• Changes justified by perceived crises in
• Population growth
• water and land shortages

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Conclusions

• Development assessment panels
• Introduced to overcome mistrust of local
  government politics
• Limited accountability
• Not elected
• No residency requirement
• Gone? Not a good outcome for democratic system,
  let alone our planning system

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