NSW Premier Chris Minns has today announced that the Department of Planning and Environment will become two new departments to better deliver on the Government\u2019s priorities of addressing the energy challenges, climate change, the environment and housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NSW Government is committed to keeping the lights on for NSW households, leading the essential transition to clean renewable energy, setting up the Energy Security Corporation, securing the future of our natural environment, as well as addressing the cost of living by ensuring housing is more affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 1 January 2024, the Department of Planning and Environment will be split into two new dedicated entities, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new departments will be joined by the Office of Energy and Climate Change which is currently in Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There will be no changes to Ministerial portfolios. The changes have been made following a detailed review and analysis of services and programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Public Sector Review is ongoing and any further machinery of government changes will take place post the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2023-24 Budget and Appropriations Bill will be presented on 19 September on the basis of current administrative arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All changes to machinery of government covered in today\u2019s announcement, due to take effect from 1 January, will be reflected in full in the 2024-25 Budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NSW Premier Chris Minns said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur government will always keep people at the heart of our decisions, and it\u2019s clear that we need to align our agencies with the most important issues facing our communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s precisely what this change is designed to achieve.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe new Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water pulls together the collective environmental expertise of government into one place \u2013 creating a team ready to tackle one of our biggest challenges in energy security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe changes announced today will also provide a renewed focus and deep expertise to address the housing crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Climate Change, Energy and Environment Penny Sharpe said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe went to the election with a commitment to taking serious action on Climate Change and addressing the decline in biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis new department brings these key tasks together and will allow the Minns Government to deliver on our election commitments and focus on the future of NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis future secures clean energy, drives economic growth for households and businesses and protects our air, our water, our soil and our plants and animals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s my job to make sure there is enough housing for people in NSW. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe inherited a housing crisis more than a decade in the making and know how challenging the housing situation is for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve already established new planning rules which encourage the construction of more homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve reformed infrastructure contributions to get roads, schools, health services and open spaces delivered faster in areas of high housing growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese changes combined with departmental changes, will hone our housing delivery focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI look forward to the new approach and fresh ideas that will be generated by bringing together the best minds and expertise in the public sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Housing and the Minister for Water Rose Jackson said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur government is focused on bringing solutions to the table that are thorough and informed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want to create a government for the future not just right now. Part of that work means pulling together the right teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the Minister for Water, this new department not only makes sense but is absolutely crucial to ensure NSW is ready for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know that climate change, pollution and land management are some of the biggest risks to water quality and security.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NSW Premier Chris Minns has today announced that the Department of Planning and Environment will become two new departments to better deliver on the Government\u2019s priorities of addressing the energy challenges, climate change, the environment and housing. The NSW Government is committed to keeping the lights on for NSW households, leading the essential transition to … Continue reading “Changes to the public sector to provide laser focus on housing and energy challenges”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22399,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22398\/revisions\/22399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}