Page 3688 - Week 12 - Thursday, 25 November 2021
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held as the greatest success story for the Labor Party in the ACT’s parliamentary history but who somehow does not seem to be very satisfied with the current Labor Chief Minister’s government.
The outcomes of the report included that about 85.5 per cent of Canberrans lived in a detached house. Of those who had plans to move to a new dwelling in the future, 91 per cent proposed to move to a detached house. Of those who had plans to move to a new dwelling in the future, none intended to move to a townhouse or dual occupancy, and a mere 8.3 per cent wanted to move to an apartment.
Further, asked what form of dwelling Canberrans would want to live in in an ideal world, 84.2 per cent of Canberrans said that they wanted to live in detached housing. The most prevalent reason, at 52.7 per cent, dictating people’s choice of dwelling, was affordability. What a surprise. My colleague Mr Parton spoke on this very issue just a few minutes ago.
A mere 4.6 per cent of people in Canberra thought that there should be more apartment buildings of more than six storeys, and only 5.7 per cent supported more apartment buildings of between four and six storeys. You would not imagine this being an outcome from the town centres and main arterial roads in Canberra. You would not expect that. We are seeing something very different from these preferences of Canberrans. A staggering 79.3 per cent of the people of Canberra believed that there should be no more apartment buildings of more than six storeys built in Canberra. That is the end of my summary of that key report on housing preferences and planning outcomes, which the government itself instituted.
I agree in some ways with my colleague Ms Clay on the importance of green spaces in the territory. Mr Parton touched on this as well. It seems that the Labor-Greens government will pursue density at the expense of green spaces and tree canopy. Green spaces should be preserved for many reasons, including the importance of plant life as a relatively cost-effective way of addressing climate change and heat banks. They provide permeable surfaces to assist with the management of run-off.
DV369 has some worthy features, and we will be monitoring its implementation closely. However, if the government continues with the release of small parcels for detached housing, I worry that owners will be choosing two-storey constructions which (1) are more expensive and (2) will consequently further drive up the price of detached housing in the territory.
The Canberra Liberals share the concern of much of the community about RZ2-type development happening in RZ1 zones. The demonstration housing project is perhaps an attempt to do RZ2 in RZ1 by stealth. Plot variations in the Territory Plan should not be standard practice and should not allowed in general. People who buy a house in the suburbs want certainty, with the expectation that they are not buying a home that will have a block of flats next to it within 12 months. Separately titled dual occupancies on large RZ1 blocks, rather than spot variations, would be a better way to achieve balanced density in our suburbs while retaining our green spaces, our streetscapes and the privacy of residents.
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