Page 242 - Week 01 - Thursday, 15 December 2016
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Developments with multiple buildings totalling over 7,000 square metres are significant developments. Therefore, it is appropriate that the community is engaged in the planning and development process at the earliest stage. To ensure well-supported and high quality development outcomes, it is important that there is community participation in the planning system. Good developers already seek community views on their development proposals and involve them at each step of the planning process.
While this imposes a minor regulatory impact on some developers of major developments, it will affect less than five per cent of all development proposals. On the other hand, the government is committed to improving community consultation processes and seeking input from a greater cross-section of the community. The benefit to the community in being engaged in the planning process is an important consideration that offsets the minor regulatory impact imposed here.
I would now like to introduce the third and final minor policy amendment contained in the bill. This amendment removes the requirement for the responsible minister to determine an energy efficiency target from the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010. The act predates the Energy Efficiency (Cost of Living) Improvement Act 2012, which has since established the energy efficiency improvement scheme and comprehensively provides for energy efficiency objectives and targets.
The energy efficiency act includes the energy savings target, which determines an amount of greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced through energy efficiency. The target is integrated into the improvement scheme. As a result of the enactment of the new energy efficiency act, it is no longer necessary for the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act to also contain a target for energy efficiency. This simply creates a duplicated requirement and does not improve energy efficiency outcomes.
Section 10 of the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act is removed by clause 4 of the bill. It is important to note that this is not a reduction of the government’s energy efficiency and sustainability goals; it is merely a removal of a redundant provision in the interests of ensuring that legislative requirements are located in the most appropriate acts and are not unnecessarily duplicated.
The government remains highly committed to energy efficiency as an important means of reducing both greenhouse gas pollution and household energy costs. The energy efficiency improvement scheme is continuing to achieve important outcomes in this area.
I would also like to briefly mention some of the technical amendments contained in the bill. These amendments improve the legislative drafting to provide greater clarity around the intent of provisions and to improve the operation of the legislation.
Clause 11 of the bill contains an amendment to the Planning and Development Act 2007, which is silent on when a development approval takes effect if there is an
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