These reforms have been too long in the planning stage. What an incredible irony.

About six different planning ministers have toiled with the notion for a decade, that 29 planning schemes in a state of less than 514,000 people is perhaps too many.

It would be difficult to quantify the cost to the state for such a chaotic and ludicrous preparation for a reform that had one key objective - simplicity.

It's been anything but. Another road to nowhere, in a state that can ill afford such incompetence.

Planning reform is a parallel journey with the path towards amalgamation. Both issues have overwhelmed the other tiers of government.

You can't simplify planning reform if you can't simplify the incumbency of 29 councils. That's 29 kingdoms, with all their peculiar power play.

Ratepayers and taxpayers are the losers. The state government yesterday announced the broad outline of the next stage of planning reform.

Again there's too little detail, just concepts. Planning reform is an eternal circus of broad outlines, with little detail.

It makes the British TV series Yes Minister look lame by comparison.

Treasurer and Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein yesterday offered the latest broad outline.

His statement curiously included the line ". . .each municipal area will retain control as to which zones best apply to land use development for the local community".

It would be a tragedy if all the work in the end merely created the foundation for the status quo.

That no matter what the rhetoric, essentially 29 planning schemes have survived the prolonged purge.

We trust that it just means councils will administer a consistent and uniform set of new rules and guidelines.

Yes minister, we live in hope.