The property sector is urging MPs to support the bill that would bring change to South Australia's planning system.
In a joint letter, the Property Council and the Urban Development Institute (UDIA) are lobbying for MPs to support the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Bill 2015 which Minister for Planning John Rau introduced in 2015, InDaily has reported.
"[We] are calling on members of Parliament to carefully consider the potential ... to create jobs, stimulate the economy and simplify our planning system," the letter said. "The over-arching objective of this legislation is to make South Australia the most attractive destination for investment of capital and make life easier for residents and businesses wanting to build or develop."
The Bill, which will replace Development Act 1993, will exclude councilors from Development Assessment Panels. While the Property Council and the UDIA approve of this, they are still opposed to the "inclusion of a statutory urban growth boundary, due to the inflexibility of such a mechanism to respond to future demographic and economic changes," as per InDaily.
The Parliament resumes Tuesday, Feb. 9, and as per The Advertiser report, Planning, Development and Infrastructure Bill remains one of the main agenda for the debate.
"This (new year) gives us an opportunity to hit the reset button so that we can progress legislation which may have become bogged down in the past," Premier Jay Weatherill said. "We've been having discussions with some of the crossbenchers who have remaining concerns about the (planning) Bill - we're confident that we can come to a sensible compromise."
In a separate report from InDaily, David Homburg from the Australian Institute of Architects has argued that the planning reforms is necessary and will be beneficial to ordinary South Australians. They are the ones who experience more problems with the planning system compared to big developers.
