Page 1977 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2022
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previous government. While the site was not then and still is not for sale, earlier this term I asked the ACT public service to work with CSIRO. Since that time, a number of ACT directorates have been giving advice to CSIRO on a range of matters. These include planning, infrastructure, schools, roads, environmental management and the process of converting land from national land to territory land.
I asked for that advice to be prepared in order to assist the CSIRO to prepare its site for a potential sale. If the site is available for sale, of course the territory will have a very strong interest in acquiring it. The ACT government is happy to support writing to the commonwealth to encourage this sale, and I am pleased that the Canberra Liberals support this approach. I am personally hopeful that, with a renewed Albanese Labor government in Parliament House, we will be able to achieve this outcome. To foreshadow the amendment I am moving, that outcome is not just about land being delivered in a format set by the Assembly vote. We want that land to be brought into the ACT’s planning framework so that all future steps that are decided are following consultation with Canberrans and especially, and very importantly, Canberrans who live nearby.
While I am pleased to see the opposition supporting the ACT government’s ongoing efforts to secure land for Canberra’s future, there are some things in Ms Lee’s motion that need a closer look. First of all, it is not true that the ACT government’s policy is to have a set number of people in high-density dwellings. The 70 per cent infill target is about building on the existing urban footprint, not about the type of housing we build. That is an important target for keeping Canberra environmentally sustainable and keeping our green spaces green and ensuring the bush capital that we all love.
The motion asks for us to note a range of facts about the current housing market that members here have debated repeatedly over the last year. I will say it again: there are no simple answers to the housing market and broader economic issues facing our community. No-one can deny that housing affordability is an issue—it is an issue—and that cost of living pressures are on the rise. They are. This is an economic reality. These are not unique to the ACT. Land prices have been increasing everywhere in Australia. I am very hopeful that the newly elected Albanese Labor government will be a partner in addressing these issues, not only in the ACT but across the country. This is looking more positive than it ever has because of the Labor government federally.
The amendment that I will be moving goes to the vision that this government has for Canberra’s new suburbs and what they should look like. It is very easy to just say, “Release more blocks,” but that is not a realistic answer to housing prices and it takes a lot more than a headline to develop a great new neighbourhood. We know that to meet Canberra’s needs we need to deliver a sustainable city. A mix of housing choices is required, and that is what Canberrans want. They want choices. They want to live in a city that keeps its natural beauty and has great services and amenities.
Our current single dwelling release targets reflect that mix. The 2021-22 to 2025-26 indicative land release program shows 25 per cent of releases—or 4,171 dwellings—as single dwelling blocks, out of a total of 16,434 dwellings. It is uncontroversial to say that any new neighbourhoods in Canberra will allow medium and low-density
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