Major NSW Public Service Restructure Follows New Ministerial Appointments

Hon Rob Stokes is back as Minister for Planning and Public Spaces - a move that has been broadly welcomed by the industry. The industry’s relationship with the government was at an all-time low in the lead up to the election and there will be a great deal of repair work to be done over coming months. Minister Stokes is a great appointment to get things back on track because he is trusted, has experience in the portfolio and an almost unparalleled knowledge of the planning system.

 There has also been some significant changes in leadership in the NSW public sector. Carolyn McNally has been replaced by Jim Betts as the head of a new mega department - Planning and Industry. Jim Betts was formerly the head of Infrastructure NSW and comes to the portfolio with a strong reputation for getting things done.

 The departmental changes are also interesting. The Office of Local Government and Office of Environment and Heritage will no longer be independent agencies and come under the new Planning and Industry mega department. The new department brings together the former Planning and Environment and Industry Clusters. It is intended to deliver greater levels of integration and efficiency across key areas such as long-term planning, precincts, infrastructure priorities, open space, the environment, natural resources, land, water, mining, energy, and industries. In particular, there will be an emphasis on regional NSW.

 There are also some interesting changes taking place in Premier and Cabinet that relate to the industry. There are no changes to the Greater Sydney Commission or Infrastructure NSW. But Urban Growth and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority will both cease to be executive agencies and the functions will move to Infrastructure NSW.  The Natural Resources Commission will move to the Planning & Industry Cluster.

 Landcom implemented a major restructure - the Monday immediately following the election. From the outside, there is no clarity on what is happening there at the moment.  Additionally, there is nothing being said about Land and Housing Corporation and where that will fit in the new public service structure. This will all become clearer over coming days or weeks.

 This is a significant restructure and was probably planned well in advance of the election. At the moment it seems to make sense. The challenge will be ensuring such large departments can be persuaded to pursue the policy priorities of the new Government and Minister.