These planning law changes won’t please everyone. That’s the point

NSW’s notoriously unwieldy planning system is set for an overhaul after the Minns Labor government and Coalition leaders agreed on one thing: the only way the rules can be reformed is with bipartisanship.

The O’Farrell government tried and failed to use its powers to deliver radical changes to critical planning legislation in 2013. But, as the housing crisis remains the government’s greatest challenge and NSW lags on its target to deliver 377,000 homes by mid-2029, Coalition MPs cannot afford to stand in the way.

The myriad reforms aim to tackle critical grievances that have long plagued the planning system: largely that it’s slow, complex and onerous, involves too many authorities, and has more layers than a mille-feuille pastry.

As Planning Minister Paul Scully said on Wednesday: “We are literally sweating the small stuff in the planning system … we want to make it easier to build homes in NSW.”

The devil will be in the detail. The mixed bag of reforms will be met with a mixed bag of responses from local councils, residents, planners and developers. Some changes touch on areas ripe for reform, such as standardising development application requirements and community consultation across the state.

Other reforms will prove more controversial, including the decision to enshrine in legislation the fledgling Housing Delivery Authority, which started operating only in January and has sent more than 85,000 homes on a faster route to construction. The prospect the HDA is here to stay will alarm some councils, including North Sydney and The Hills Shire, which have voiced concerns about the three-member panel’s ability to skate over local planning controls and are worried about whether their infrastructure will cope with an influx of residents.

Minns is unlikely to be deterred by backlash from any councils that want a bigger say in the shape and location of higher-density housing projects in their suburbs. He came into power unabashedly picking a fight with local governments who were reluctant to embrace development, and has doubled down on that sentiment as residents – particularly those in blue-ribbon electorates – have opposed his policies to boost housing stock.

Scully said on Wednesday that MPs – whatever their views on housing density in their areas – will face a choice: either support the construction of homes that will allow more people to live closer to where they work, or be stuck with a planning system that “holds back housing, blocks people’s aspirations and curbs our opportunities”.

Months ago, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman made much of the fact he wanted to work hand in glove with the government on reforms required to confront the housing crisis, in what Minns has described as a “big and bold” offer.

He is now wedged. Liberal electorates complaining about increased development have loud voices but shouldn’t dominate the debate. Speakman and his Liberal colleagues must stick to their bipartisan vow or risk being on the wrong side of the housing debate.

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