The State Government has moved to axe the Greater Cities Commission (GCC), as part of reforms to beef up housing supply.
The Commission, formerly Sydney based, was expanded to include Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong in late 2021, as part of a policy by the former government to create a six city region along the east coast.
NSW Premier Chris Minns announced yesterday that 350 staff from across the GCC will be redeployed into the Department of Planning and Environment to focus on the delivery of more housing, jobs, and infrastructure.
The transfer will reduce the overlap and duplication between agencies and redirect valuable but limited resources to bolster planning delivery against the Government’s priorities.
Paul Scully, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces said the previous Government left us with a planning system that included too many agencies reporting to too many ministers.
“There were too many agencies operating in the NSW planning system with similar responsibilities, meaning that accountability for delivery was blurred and confusing.
“The system created resourcing gaps in critical areas, while duplicating effort in others, and with the housing challenges we face, it wasn’t fit for purpose.”
“We need to pool all our resources to deliver on the new government’s priorities including housing and jobs, and the infrastructure to support them.
NSW will require approximately 900,000 additional dwellings by 2041, but the NSW Government said there is a projected housing construction shortfall of 134,000 dwellings over the five years of the National Housing Accord.
The GCC Commissioners will continue to assist with metropolitan planning for the Six Cities Region and provision of advice to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces.