The Property Council of Australia has endorsed the role of the independent planning panels in approving $17b worth of development including a planetarium, aged care facilities and thousands of new homes have been approved in the last financial year.
NSW Property Council Executive Director Luke Achterstraat said planning and property were the key to economic recovery in 2020, and a strong pipeline of activity would be critical to ensure this is emulated in 2021-22.
"We need expedited planning approvals to underpin economic recovery off the back of this current lockdown," Mr Achterstraat said.
Mr Achterstraat said local planning panels are an independent, fair and transparent approach that ensure decisions get made on their merits and that experts make local planning decisions.
"Local planning panels are a critical part of the planning process and need to be genuinely independent to help make good planning decisions for local communities."
"They are also a corruption prevention measure endorsed by former Deputy Police Commissioner, Nick Kaldas, as part of his review of the planning system.
Mr Achterstraat said he encouraged the Minister for Planning to continue to look at ways the NSW planning system could be improved through reform.
"In May the NSW Productivity Commission released his White Paper with 60 recommendations for increased productivity in the state, with housing, infrastructure and planning reform being the key to unlocking productivity across the state," Mr Achterstraat said.
"It is more important than ever that these recommendations are front of mind for economic recovery driven by planning reform and housing delivery.
"The success of the planning panels in delivering approximately 27,000 new homes and 52,000 jobs across the State is a good start, but not anywhere near the 40,000 homes a year we need.
"Homes and jobs should be the immediate priority of this government, two things we've never valued more than during a lockdown.
