Page 1324 - Week 04 - Thursday, 5 May 2022
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delving into the detail, because the scientists who are producing those reports are so frightened by the decision-making they see around them. It is as if people simply do not understand and accept the reality of what is being said.
The latest IPCC report has delved into urban planning at quite a detailed level. It says that we need more infill, not more sprawl. We need more public and active transport. We need clear transport corridors that are really well serviced. We need trees, and we need to protect the trees we have and protect the areas we have. The IPCC report says that urban planning matters and that urban planning is key to climate action.
Urban sprawl is also a really slow way to create homes. When we have people who need homes, it is a bit of a fake promise. We have to plan the new suburbs. We have to build roads and schools and shops. We have to build housing. We need a construction industry and supplies, and we all know how long that takes and what the delays are. We have heard that greenfield suburbs are seven to 10 years away from a home. So any new greenfield site is likely to be a decade off from delivering a new home to somebody who needs one right now. That is why our government policy on urban sprawl is 70-30. We will keep 70 per cent of our development within our existing footprint.
The Greens policy actually goes much further than that. We want it to be 80-20. We want to keep 80 per cent of our development within our footprint because we understand that we cannot keep spreading outwards. Eventually, we need to draw lines and stop doing it at all. We understand that every single choice about a greenfield suburb matters. It is important that we do careful environmental assessments, and it is important that we assess against other risks—growing climate risks like bushfire risks.
The Greens understand this really well, but the Liberals seem confused. I was a bit horrified in our last estimates when we were talking about the western edge. We heard a lot of questions about the western edge from a lot of different members, and it was really good to see that detailed level of interest. But some Liberal members seemed to have a very strong narrative: “Minister, when are you releasing these sites? How many homes? When will you release them? Do it faster. Do it now.” And we had other Liberals members saying, “Minister, can you tell us about the bushfire risk in these zones? Minister, can you tell us how you are going to protect Bluetts Block? Minister, can you tell us how you are going to protect the environmental area? Minister, are you sure you are being careful enough?” It was hard to put all that together into some kind of cohesive narrative. It was almost as if we were hearing, “Develop. Protect. Do it all faster.” We cannot make our decisions that way. It is not a good way to build a city and it is not a good way to look after our planet or our children anymore.
We have a homelessness crisis, and we Greens went into the last election knowing that. It is now broader than a homelessness crisis; it is now an affordability crisis as well. Like the rest of Australia, like everywhere else in the world, the ACT is experiencing this, and it is devastating. The causes are really complex, and it is not helpful to people if we simplify them too much. We understand a lot of these causes. We have rising house prices and rent, and we have a tax system that makes it easier
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