PIA NSW had a productive week last week on the policy and advocacy front:
PIA NSW meets Minister Scully
NSW President Sue Weatherley MPIA (Fellow), and PIA representatives met Minister Scully and his ministerial office planning staff.
PIA took the opportunity to urge more strategic and inclusive urban renewal - as well presenting ideas for simplifying assessment. PIA assisted the Minister in defining ‘affordable rental housing’ under the Housing Accord - stressing the importance of sufficient affordable housing being made available via CHPs (Community Housing Providers) in perpetuity. PIA respected the need to expand housing supply and improve housing diversity in accessible centres and advocated a strategic planning approach to picking the best candidates.
PIA have consistently supported a ‘strategy led’ planning system. Other measures to improve housing supply raised included fixing the portal, streamlining DA notification and referral processes and rationalising planning panel criteria. PIA presented the Minister with our recent guidance document on the use of AI in assessment.
PIA took the opportunity to introduce our new team – Sue Weatherley MPIA (Fellow), NSW President, Clare Brown MPIA, NSW Policy Committee Chair and Henry Black PIA (Assoc.) 2023 Young Planner of the year. We presented the Minister with our recent submissions on housing and the PIA guideline on using artificial intelligence in development assessment. The Minister appreciated PIA contributions and we looked forward to keeping lines of communication open to further discuss planning in a changing climate.
PIA represented at Climate Parliamentary Inquiry
Last week PIA provided evidence on how planning systems should be reformed to respond to a heating and less predictable climate. Sue Weatherley MPIA (Fellow), PIA NSW President and John Brockhoff RPIA (Fellow), PIA National Policy Director presented our positions and submissions on climate adaptation and achieving net zero carbon to the NSW upper house committee on the planning portfolio.
PIA advocated that natural hazards should be viewed as inevitable and increasing risks to settlement in a changing climate. We have consistently advocated for ‘building back more resilient’, planning to avoid risks to new development – and accepting circumstances where planned retreat is best (refer to PIA flood submission on our website)
PIA also supported improvements to the NSW Climate Adaptation Strategy to make it more explicit on the climate scenarios to be addressed and the expectations for adaptation action plans – particularly the need for their closer integration with regional strategic plans. We reiterated our concerns that flood (and other hazards) modelling needed to be better resourced by NSW Government. It will become increasingly difficult for development assessment processes to consider data and address changes in hazards exposure without an overarching planning and decision making framework relevant to future climate scenarios.
PIA supports more deeply embedding climate change adaptation in strategic planning decision making – rather than relying on ad hoc assessment processes. To do this climate adaption plans should set out scenarios and decision making frameworks relevant to each hazard and have this embedded in spatial strategic plans.
Listen to their contribution here: