Page 445 - Week 02 - Thursday, 11 February 2021
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bigger than the existing facilities, which have been able to operate without too much disruption to neighbouring businesses and the surrounding street network.
The EIS for the facilities is not an approval but, rather, a step in the development process to ensure that there is sufficient innovation to assess environmental impacts. For these reasons, amongst the others which my colleagues have discussed, the government cannot allow these two development proposals to proceed to be constructed and operate in Fyshwick.
The ACT government is still very supportive of Fyshwick as a home to industrial businesses. Fyshwick continues to be a thriving business hub for the territory, with many varied businesses co-existing and offering quality locations to their customers. However, Fyshwick cannot be a home to businesses with the potential to impact negatively on the surrounding businesses and the suburb more broadly.
There are other more suitable locations across the territory to develop the waste infrastructure that we need to meet the future demands of our citizens. These facilities are better placed in areas of the territory where they will have less of an impact on other businesses and residents. Given that there are only two very large proposals affected directly by this legislation, I am confident that there will not be a widespread impact from this ban. Based on advice received, the government believes that compensation is not payable. However, we will respond to and consider the merits of any claim.
Finally, I will provide a little more detail on the policy review work which is underway, and which will be completed in the months ahead. The government recognises that the territory will require new waste infrastructure into the future, to meet our ongoing needs. The government also recognises that it needs to provide opportunities for innovation and for the private sector to contribute solutions to our waste challenges.
The policy review work will be undertaken in two stages—the first stage will be focused on Fyshwick and looking at what types of facilities could be developed there in the future. This work is expected to result in a regulation being made to carve out certain types of smaller facilities from the ban, similar to what is already operating there. This will be achieved through a regulation which affects the definition of “waste facility” for the purposes of a prohibited waste facility development application. The bill provides that a regulation can be made which excludes sites from the definition of “waste facility”.
The second stage of the review will look more broadly at the future need, type and scale of waste facilities in the territory. This work will consider waste policy and planning policy issues and will be completed over the coming year. Once the review is complete, the government will be able to provide more guidance to the waste industry on where future development proposals for waste facilities may be built.
In summary, this bill achieves important commitments both from ACT Labor and the Greens that were made during the election campaign. I am pleased to see us move
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