Page 3516 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 September 1991
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One of the major complaints made of the development approval process is the delays which occur in obtaining approval. The legislation requires the approving authority to either approve or reject an application within a prescribed time. Failure to meet the deadline will allow the applicant to appeal to the AAT. This provision will clearly place the onus on the approving authority to meet the timetable set by the Assembly.
The Bill also provides for significant sanctions for offences committed against its provisions. Where persons are conducting controlled activities without approval, the Bill provides for the issuing and enforcement of orders against them. Penalties for breaches are prescribed in the schedules to the Bill. Additionally, if a person is convicted of an offence of failing to conserve a place on a heritage register, there is a ministerial power to revoke an approval to conduct a controlled activity granted to that person. This is another example of where the ACT's commitment to protect its heritage is setting the standard for the rest of Australia.
That concludes my overview of the Bill. I should add that the regulations relating to this Bill, along with the consequential provisions Bill, are being drafted by the Attorney-General's Department. To assist members in their consideration of this Bill, I table a paper identifying matters for regulations, together with draft disallowable instruments relating to leasing and heritage assessment processes in the Bill.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this speech, the final stage of public consultation on this legislation was the inquiry conducted jointly by the Legislative Assembly's Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Infrastructure and Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and the Environment. The committees tabled their joint report in April of this year. As it would be opportune to consider issues raised by the committees in the context of the Assembly's consideration of the legislation, I table the Government's response to the committees' joint report.
As far as they go, the Government accepts the majority of the committees' recommendations. As such, I do not propose to address them individually. I would like to comment briefly on only two of the committees' more general recommendations.
Firstly, the Government agrees with the committees that this legislative package must be widely promoted in the community, and action along these lines is well in hand. (Extension of time granted)
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