The NSW (Australia) planning reforms and their implications for planning education and natural and built environment

Planning reforms in NSW have gathered pace. In the past few years, the state government has churned out a series of reforms. These reforms are becoming more urgent in their rhetoric and more dramatic in their impacts. The reforms have included planFrist, BASIX, standardization of LEP, changes to the major projects regime, and changes to the development contribution system. Near the end of 2007, another set of major reforms was proposed through a discussion paper, and some of these reforms have already been speedily legislated. These reforms are being enacted to achieve economic efficiency through uniformity in the planning system across jurisdictions, simplicity and speed for the developers, delivery through electronic systems (ePlanning), development assessment by independent panels and private certifiers, and flexibility via voluntary mechanisms (planning agreements). It has been argued that the reforms are necessary because they are taking place internationally and in other parts of Australia. Contrarily, some sections of the society feel that the reforms are a power grab by the state government or that they are an outcome of the strong influence of the development lobby. On the other hand, a number of planning scholars believe planning reforms are a natural and inevitable outcome of the ascendance of the neo-liberal economic order of the past two to three decades. This paper reviews the motivations behind planning reforms and discuses the profound implications that changes in the planning system in NSW have for natural and built environments in the state.