Page 3515 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 September 1991
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The final substantive part of the Bill, Part 6, relates to approvals and orders. This part of the Bill deals with controlling activities that relate to land usage. The major mechanisms are the establishment of a schedule of controlled activities and a requirement that applicants submit an application for approval to conduct any of these activities. The controlled activities which are listed in this schedule are works affecting heritage significance, public works, the execution of a variation of a lease of Territory land and the use of residential land for carrying on a profession, trade or calling. In addition, an application for design and siting approval will be a controlled activity.
The Bill establishes a register of applications to conduct controlled activities. The register will be available for public inspection. Notice of the application will be given to the adjoining lessees and notified in a daily newspaper published and circulating in the Territory. Additionally, the Minister may require an applicant to erect a sign on the site to which his or her application relates, specifying the nature of the controlled activity proposed to be conducted in or on that place.
The Bill recognises that in some cases it will not be possible to identify and notify all the lessees of all properties adjoining the site of a particular controlled activity - for example, when a major power line is installed. In these cases the Minister will be required only to give notice of the application in the newspaper. As I explained earlier, where classes of applications are excluded from third-party appeal by the Territory Plan, they will also be exempt from the Bill's notification provisions.
Schedule 2 of the Bill identifies "concurring authorities" for each controlled activity. The agreement of these concurring authorities must be obtained by the responsible administering authority before an application can be approved. Approving authorities are also required, in appropriate circumstances, to seek comments from a range of "commenting authorities" and to take these into account when considering an application. Commenting authorities include the heritage council, ACTEW and the building authority.
Unless an application is exempted, any person who may be affected by its approval may lodge an objection. These will be registered and made available for public inspection. The approving authority must take account of these objections, along with comments received from concurring and commenting authorities, in making a decision. Notice of a decision is given to the applicant, all concurring and commenting authorities and all persons who lodged objections. If the applicant is unhappy with the decision, he or she has a right of appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Third parties who initially lodged objections may also appeal to the AAT.
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