“It’ll be up to us to co-ordinate what our government is saying about the outcomes, not up to the developer to work out who’s saying what,” said Minn said.

Planning Minister Paul Scully and Liberal counterpart Scott Farlow have been meeting since the premier signalled he was open to bipartisan reform of the 46-year-old, 327-page EP&A act in January. But the final proposal was kept tightly under wraps, with neither Farlow nor industry shown a final version of the reforms before Wednesday.

The reforms will pose a test for embattled opposition leader Mark Speakman and Farlow as they seek the approval of Liberal MPs. A schism has emerged in the Liberal caucus between the pro-development wing of the party and those opposed to, or cautious about, greater housing density.

Minns laid down the gauntlet for the Liberals to back the reforms on Wednesday, saying “we would love this to be bipartisan” and the government was “in effect accepting Mark Speakman’s very big, bold offer”.

Originally designed to improve environmental and social considerations in planning decisions, the EP&A Act has been criticised as being too complex and creating subjectivity that can be weaponised by councils and communities to oppose more housing in their neighbourhoods.

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Under then-planning minister Brad Hazard, the Coalition government attempted to reform the Act in 2013 but were frustrated by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party after former premier Barry O’Farrell reneged on a deal to expand hunting in national parks.

Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) chief executive Stuart Ayres backed the announcement, saying the planning reforms were what NSW needed to “help industry to build the homes people need”.

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“Making housing supply an objective of the planning act is an overdue and commonsense reform,” he said. “I’m confident these reforms will see more homes built faster.”

Housing Now chair David Borger said the announcement was the “biggest reforms our state has seen”, saying the policies would help fast track the approvals needed to increase housing supply.

“Putting more of the rats and mice into fast track approvals is going to bear housing fruit,” he said.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the reforms would transform NSW’s planning system from the worst in Australia to the best. Borger did support this statement but said it was a “great ambition to have”.