CORONAVIRUS — STATE OF EMERGENCY — PLANNING
255. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Planning:
(1) How many decisions have been made under regulation
78H of the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 since it came into
effect on 3 April 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic?
(2) How many of those decisions
could not have been made without regulation 78H?
(3) Who or what body made those
decisions —
(a) an officer of
the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage under delegated authority of the
Western Australian Planning Commission;
(b) as part of a joint
development assessment panel decision; or
(c) by the Western Australian Planning Commission on
the recommendation of the state development assessment unit?
(4) Would the minister please list
the decisions by project and proponent for each category above?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(4) Regulation
78H of the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015
enables the Minister for Planning to issue a
notice of exemption from planning requirements in a state of emergency.
The minister issued such a notice on 8 April 2020, and an amended notice on 30 April
2020. As local governments administer development control under their local planning
schemes, including any proposals exempted under the 78H notice of exemption,
the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage does not keep records of such
decisions.