Successive Labor and Liberal governments have given property developers free rein over our city and towns for too long. Communities are being cut out from decision-making, too many heritage places, green spaces and trees are being destroyed, and agricultural land is under threat from encroaching development. We urgently need to reform our planning system to put climate and people first — not developers and their profit margins.
The Greens have been leading the charge to transform our planning system to respond to the threat of climate change and put planning back in the hands of communities. During this term of Parliament, we’ve:
- Pushed to make developers pay their fair share in tax with a 75% Developer Tax on windfalls from rezoning, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for more affordable housing, schools, and hospitals.
- Moved to protect our heritage places by introducing a bill to allow the Planning Minister to direct owners of neglected heritage buildings to bring the buildings up to scratch, and empower the Minister step in to undertake the works and send the bill to the owner if this doesn’t occur.
- Fought to protect our iconic green space by passing bills in the Upper House to add the Adelaide Park Lands to the State Heritage List and prevent the Government from rezoning the Park Lands without the approval of both Houses of Parliament.
- Called on the Government to reject the expansion plans for White Rock Quarry and introduced a Private Members Bill to improve community consultation and ensure consideration of the environmental and health factors associated with private mines.
- Secured an inquiry into Public and Active Transport, which recommended the development of a state-wide strategic transport network plan and an integrated separated cycling network.
- Introduced a bill to ban gas connections to new homes from 2025, so that owners aren’t locked into using a polluting fossil fuel and called for rebates to support homeowners to replace old gas appliances with new, efficient electric ones.
- Introduced a bill to require all new major developments in South Australia to include at least 30% affordable and social housing.
- Pushed for a tax on vacant and undeveloped properties, with the money raised directed towards social housing, boosting housing supply and stamping out land banking.
