The Liberal Government's first tranche of legislation to make Tasmania's planning system fairer, faster, cheaper and simpler, has today passed the Legislative Council.
The Land Use Planning and Approvals Amendment (Streamlining of Process) Bill 2014 is a key first tranche of our long-term Plan for Tasmania, to drive investment and create jobs, and sends the clear message that Tasmania is open for business under the Liberal Government.
It will bring to a speedy conclusion the previous Labor-Green Government's lengthy, drawn out interim planning scheme process, which would have taken at least another four years to complete and still wouldn't have delivered state-wide consistency.
The interim scheme process will be finalised at the one consistent level across Tasmania to provide the platform on which to implement the state-wide planning scheme, with further legislation to be introduced next year.
For too long our overly complex planning system has been a handbrake to the economy and investment.
We know there is interest from around the world in Tasmania, which has been highlighted on the world stage this week, with the visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping and the success of the TasInvest program.
With the recent appointment of the Coordinator-General we are ready to capitalise on investment and our reforms will streamline approvals and introduce a single statewide planning scheme to provide the consistency and certainty that investment requires.
More Media Releases from Peter Gutwein
More Media Releases from the Minister for Planning and Local Government