The President of the state’s peak body for local government has defended the performance of councils and their role in solving the housing crisis, following criticism from the Business Council of Australia about development application (DA) approval rates.
Local Government NSW President Cr Darriea Turley AM said an opinion piece by the Business Council of Australia which included the claim that “many of our local councils aren’t helping”, was inaccurate and unhelpful.
“The scale and intensity of the housing and homelessness crisis is vast and warrants all spheres of government working in genuine partnership to achieve the best outcomes for the community. It won’t be solved by pointing the finger of blame at local government,” Cr Turley said.
“We’re all aware of the growing housing crisis and NSW councils have been dedicated in their contribution towards doing something about it.
“Local government and the planning system are often targeted as the barrier to housing supply, with claims that relaxing or fast-tracking planning processes is the solution to increasing market supply.
“But councils can only approve applications received and have no control over property owners’ decisions to commence construction of dwellings once they are approved.
“With the slowdown in the construction sector, we have seen a decline in the number of applications being submitted and the number of commencements,” Cr Turley said.
“We know that councils continue to overwhelmingly approve development applications – and have done so for more than a decade – at a consistent rate of around 97%.
“Councils have also been actively reviewing and improving their assessment processes, and many have seen promising results.”
Cr Turley said councils were absolutely committed to a fast and effective approvals process, but not at the cost of compromising best practices and sound planning.
She said there were two aspects of councils’ planning work related to housing – assessments of development applications (DAs) and strategic planning, which involved land use planning and rezoning to accommodate additional population growth.
“Councils have also been proactive in reviewing their local plans and looking for new and expanded growth opportunities in their local areas,” Cr Turley said.
She said the Business Council of Australia’s assertion that there was “not enough accountability and balance of opinion in the local council approval system” was incorrect.
“Minister Scully himself acknowledged last week at a development industry event, the good work of many councils to further advancing their efforts to identify and plan for more density in well-located areas,” Cr Turley said.
“But once councils have undertaken these zoning changes, they cannot control the number of applications submitted and the dwellings that actually get built by private or government landowners.
“Councils are committed to seeing the planning for significant urban renewal and increased density done well, in a genuine, collaborative way, which has proven to be the most effective way of establishing successful and sustainable communities.”
