Page 4118 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 23 October 1991
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could be subjected to lengthy delays could be avoided if development conditions for the sale of land of this type can be made available for public consideration and, if necessary, consideration by the Assembly.
It seems to me that it is important for developers finally to get the message that if they want a project to get off the ground there will be a need to sell it to the community and get support before the statutory process is commenced. The days of a developer rolling up on Friday with a plan and the machinery, and saying that he is starting work on Monday and this is what he is going to build, hopefully will be a thing of the past after the new plan and the legislation, with its appeal processes, are finally in operation.
However, it is necessary in this interim period for the residents and members of the Assembly to remain vigilant, to ensure that the odd approval does not slip by, like the ones that were approved as the lights of Federal control of Canberra were being turned out, just as the Assembly took on the task left to it by a succession of Federal governments of both political persuasions. We all know the terrible dump we were sold by being left inadequate resources to service the community, plus a number of well identified run-down assets.
In closing my remarks on this historic Bill, let me refer briefly to some of its provisions. Clause 3 of the Bill includes two other authorities that will be required to provide a report to the Planning Authority to assist in the preparation of a variation to the Territory Plan. The Rally has long been unhappy with the degree of information provided by government agencies in response to a draft variation or the provision of information in the draft proposal put out for public consultation. I have made those comments previously in letters to the Territory Planning Authority, at the time when the various draft positions were put forward. I refer specifically to the variation for central Monash.
This clause and the related clause 6 require reports, with reasons for recommendations, to be submitted to the Planning Authority and included in the draft variations, and then provided to the Assembly and an Assembly committee. The days of no comment will be a memory, and agencies will be required to say why they believe that there will be no traffic problems or need for a school and why they have come to those conclusions. The community and the Assembly will be in a much better position to make an informed judgment on these decisions and the reasons for it.
Clause 7 is the one that will require the Executive - and I believe that this is the key - to ensure that all the relevant papers, including comments by the Planning Authority in response to community comments, are provided to an Assembly committee for examination and report. The Bill also ensures that the Executive cannot finalise the
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