THE WEEKEND WEST
The State Government has “suspended work” on a long-running project to create a Green Growth Plan, to streamline WA’s Commonwealth and State land use approvals, because of concerns about costs and the impact on housing affordability.
Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said work on the Strategic Assessment of the Perth and Peel Regions was on hold pending a critical review of costs, risks and benefits for WA.
UDIA WA chief executive Allison Hailes said UDIA backed the original 2011 project but said there were now significant concerns about the long-term implications of the plan.
“The costs of implementing the Green Growth Plan hadn’t been published by the previous State Government,” Ms Hailes said, adding that these — estimated by the private sector to be about $2 billion —would have an unknown impact on land developers and housing affordability.
Ms Saffioti pledged an independent review would consult each tier of government, industry and non-government bodies.
“The project presents many policy, legal and financial challenges which have been proving difficult to resolve, among the competing priorities of the government,” she said.
“A re-evaluation of the project is the responsible step forward.”