DAPs cut from nine to five

The state government has reduced the number of Development Assessment Panels from nine to five this week, as plans to streamline Western Australia’s planning system come into effect.

The change is an interim step before decreasing the number of panels further to a maximum of three.

The streamlined panels will be the City of Perth, metro inner-north, metro inner-south, metro outer, and regional, and will be operational from April 27.

Ray Haeren has been appointed presiding member of the City of Perth panel, Francesca Lefante will lead metro inner-north, Clayton Higham is at metro-inner south, Ian Birch at metro outer, and Paul Kotsoglo is the presiding member of the regional panel.

Twenty-nine specialist members have been appointed to the five panels, reducing the number of specialist panel members by 19.

Applications will remain with existing councils under these changes.

Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said the changes announced addressed a number of long-standing concerns to increase efficiency and consistency of decision-making bodies.   

"These changes are among the most significant to flow from the planning reform agenda and will be complemented by further initiatives to come that focus on improving transparency and community engagement,” she said.

"We are committed to creating communities that are vibrant, well-designed and provide for growth and opportunity for many years to come, and these new-look Development Assessment Panels have an important role to play to realise that vision.”

In response to Ms Saffioti’s announcement, shadow planning minister Tjorn Sibma said DAPs required continual improvement.

He said DAP meetings should be made more accessible to the public, which means enabling web-stream broadcasts and publishing agendas and minutes in a timely manner.