Thursday, 3 August 2023

Northern Metropolitan Region

Adem SOMYUREK (Northern Metropolitan) (12:44): (311) My constituency question is directed to the Minister for Planning. I am broadly supportive of planning decisions being taken away from councils based on two facts: mitigating risks of corruption and expediting planning decisions at a time when we are going through a housing crisis. However, the government’s pronouncement about the centralisation of planning decisions has created some anxiety within the planning profession. I will now read a letter from a constituent from Hadfield, who is anxious about his job during these difficult times:

I am a local council employee and town planner, and I am extremely distressed about the news the Premier flagged in the morning about stripping planning powers away from local councils, especially in relation to our jobs and livelihoods. I would like you to seek a commitment that the government will protect the jobs of innocent council employees as part of any reforms to the planning system. It is not right that my colleagues and I should lose our jobs when we have done nothing wrong, and we need an assurance that the government will protect us and guarantee our jobs as part of any reforms to move statutory planning powers from local councils.

I seek assurances from the Minister for Planning that my constituent and other town planners in my electorate will not lose their jobs as a result of the centralisation of planning decisions.