Scissors Job On Red Tape

Newcastle Herald

Friday October 1, 2004

GR

Scissors job on red tape

ASK developers planning major projects and young couples building their first homes what they think of the planning approval process in NSW and the answer is likely to be unprintable.

Certainly, red tape seems to wind itself around even the simplest of proposals. Take the case of what should have been a simple fence replacement at St Joseph's Convent at Lochinvar last year.

A straightforward rebuild of the existing fence turned into a marathon exercise after Maitland City Council insisted the new fence would have to meet heritage criteria set by another church facility nearby and owned by another denomination. As a result, an exercise that could have taken days extended over several months, with the council demands leading to a need for architects' designs and consultants' reports. The cost blew out from $70,000 to more than $110,000.

This, sadly, was a typical rather than exceptional example of the costly frustrations and delays that have made planning approvals an unfunny joke in this state. It was one of the first things Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Minister Craig Knowles decided to fix after his appointment 18 months ago.

The most significant of Mr Knowles's changes until now was an amendment last year to State Environmental Planning Policy 71 (SEPP 71), the instrument covering coastal zone development. It was altered to end a flood of referrals by councils to state planning authorities of small projects such as barbecues and pergolas. Mr Knowles said at the time that he wanted the state to be able to concentrate on big picture issues.

Local government in the Hunter and elsewhere has cautiously welcomed a wide sweep of new proposals Mr Knowles has put forward to cut red tape and reduce assessment times at a council level. Each council area will have a single Local Environmental Plan (LEP) under the changes, reducing the number in the state from 5500 to 152. Likewise, the number of zoning categories will be reduced from 3100 to fewer than 25.

At face value, these are sensible changes. They should help to produce the more standard requirements among councils that developers have been seeking for a long time and hopefully will help to reduce or steady building costs.

The effectiveness of the changes, however, will depend on what is in the detail. Some local government officers have expressed concern that a one-size-fits-all approach could fail to take into account the often considerable differences between council areas.

Retirement jolt

A NEWCASTLE City Council study showing that almost half its 450 outdoor employees will reach retiring age within 15 years highlights the problems the nation faces as the population ages. The council is looking at ways of encouraging its older, experienced workers to stay on the job longer, to avoid the risk of a disruptive loss of skills. This is the sort of exercise other employers with large workforces need to be considering to ensure that their businesses don't suffer a retirement jolt.

© 2004 Newcastle Herald

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