Labor will corrupt Tasmania’s planning approval process with an outrageous plan to bribe councils to push through approvals.

Labor’s plan to ‘reward’ councils to push up the number of approvals is a dangerous and manipulative bribe that threatens to corrupt proper planning protocols.

We need to take politics out of planning to give greater and clearer developer certainty, not put more politics in.

Perversely, this policy would have the opposite effect to promoting development, increasing the number of appeals in the planning system and slowing down development overall.

Local communities will be right to wonder if what ends up being built in their neighbourhoods is the result of their council wanting a bigger slice of Labor’s reward pie.

What councils really need is to be supported with proper planning protocols to reduce the burden and streamline the process.

A re-elected majority Liberal Government will take the politics out of planning by allowing suitable development applications to be determined by an independent Development Assessment Panel (DAP).

If there are contentions or cases where councils are conflicted, we will create a new reliable pathway.

Ms White has consistently refused to say if she backs the DAP, which has been strongly supported by the Property Council and the Planning Institute.

Rather than planning to bribe and manipulate councils, Ms White should tell Tasmanians whether she supports having an independent Development Assessment Panel ease the burden on councils and speed up approvals.