More Vengeance against Local Councils

The Ministers for Planning and Finance have announced reductions in "red tape" for homeowners, small businesses and industry. These changes are said to mean that "renovating or constructing a new planning compliant single house will no longer require approval, and small to medium-sized businesses won't have to seek approval to change a property from one permitted use to another."

Now this sounds like the sort of thing that no-one could reasonably object to, but the catch comes in considering how 'compliant' or 'permitted' are to be assessed.

A large part of what local government does in respect of planning and development applications is, in fact, assessing whether an application does comply or is permitted and, if it doesn't, what the areas of non-compliance are and whether they are acceptable.

Someone still has to determine that the single house or extension is planning-compliant or that the new 'permitted use is actually permitted (we all know of 'consulting rooms' that are really something else entirely) and, even if it is, whether additional conditions are required. If premises change from one 'permitted use' to another, for example, might it require changes under health regulations or for disability access?

Anyone who has been on a council will know that the applicant doesn't always get it right - and in some cases wilfully tries to pull the wool over council's eyes.

If local governments are to be removed from this role, it is, at the very least, incumbent on the Ministers to support them when (not if) they require changes to part-built or completed buildings on the basis that they don't comply with planning regulations.

Did I hear something about pigs flying?

https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Barnett/2015/08/Reducing-red-tape-for-homeowners.aspx