Page 4223 - Week 14 - Thursday, 24 October 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR MOORE: Mr Collaery interjects, "Last night". I would love to know, Minister, why he gets the benefit of having had a copy of the draft plan last night, whereas mine came at 9 o'clock this morning. Credit goes to Mr Wood because he agreed to make the draft plan available, and he has made it available. I understand that in 23 minutes' time he will make it available to the public of Canberra. That is where credit is due, and that is where I am giving it. However, it increases my concern for Canberra and its people rather than eases my mind. No wonder there was the enthusiasm of the Alliance Government in preparing this plan: It suits Liberal philosophy, and the Rally was prepared to go along with them at any time other than just prior to an election.
The main concept that I argued in the introduction is that we are losing strategic planning and gaining, instead, a zoning system. What is strategic planning? Why are planners worldwide moving towards strategic planning and away from zoning, contrary to what we are about to do in the ACT if this draft plan is adopted rather than rejected outright?
The Metropolitan Policy Plan is a very good example of strategic planning. It set out how much development, where and when. It is a very simple concept: The control of how much development, where it goes and when, was with the Planning Authority. Strategic planning deals with the problem of aggregation, slowly building on the infrastructure. It has brought about successful objections - the most notable one being the Canberra Times site in the Civic area.
It is that constant adding to the building or the development of an area that provides excessive infrastructure costs and puts the planning concepts out of kilter with one another. In relation to the problem of aggregation and how it has an impact on cities, look at Sydney and Melbourne. Do we approve the next application for a development? There is nothing to stop an approval for the next application for a development when it fits in with the zoning system. When there is a strategic plan that sets out just what will be achieved, where and when, there is room for a genuine appeal about the importance of planning in a city. We do not want a city like Sydney or Melbourne.
Most people who live in Canberra recognise that we are very, very fortunate in having one of the best planned cities in the world. That does not mean that we can rest on our laurels. There are new environmental and planning concerns, and we must wrestle with those. Because planners arranged something in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s, it does not mean that we have to ride with that. Of course we should develop, but we ought not take the retrograde step that is set out in this draft Territory Plan.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .