Page 1921 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 16 June 1993
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MR WOOD: I think it is a credit to the system that that happened. The Government is committed to the policy and process outlined in relation to the introduction of energy efficiency guidelines by July 1995. The committee also made another major recommendation. This was that a new planning and land appeals board be established. The Government unequivocally supports the recommendation that the committee has forwarded. It is anxious to resolve quickly the form of the proposed review body and is currently considering the form of the legislation and will release in the near future its proposed legislation. Our aim is to present legislation to the Assembly for determination in August 1993 so that it is in place at the same time as this has cleared the six days.
Several other recommendations will need to be addressed by amendments to legislation. These will include proposed amendments to the Land (Planning and Environment) Act to give effect to streamlined processes for notification and review of design and siting, land use and leasing applications. These matters will be subject to the same process and timetable as the new appeals process outlined earlier. The existing Territory Plan, most of which was inherited from the former NCDC, with the balance being policies gazetted since by the Interim Territory Planning Authority and the ACT Planning Authority, consists of over 1,100 separate policy documents. This comprehensive variation revokes those policies. Even if the Territory Plan did little else, it would be a major achievement just to consolidate these existing policies, but it does much more. It takes the opportunity to completely review existing policies and to formulate new ones to suit Canberra's current and future planning needs.
If there is one special feature in the plan that separates it from the planning policies currently in operation, it is the policies for a greater diversity in housing. The plan provides for a range of dwelling forms, including those introduced through redevelopment, and for compatible uses in residential areas. The policies in this regard are in the forefront of current thinking and will seek to ensure that renewal in Canberra's older areas is undertaken in an integrated, efficient and sensitive manner. Supporting these policies are revised design and siting policies for single unit and multi-unit housing that will ensure that the traditional high quality of residential development in Canberra is maintained.
The plan specifically provides for higher density residential uses adjacent to identified development nodes and along major transport routes, to reinforce and support the public transport system. Particular attention is given to protecting and reserving areas of open space. Most of the open space, including open space areas within urban areas and the nature reserves, national parks, et cetera, in the non-urban areas, is given the status of public land. Designation as public land requires the Government to prepare a management plan for the area in consultation with the public, and thus provides a layer of protection in addition to the provisions of the plan.
Under the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 the Territory Plan can prescribe decisions where a preliminary environmental impact assessment is mandatory. The plan therefore includes a schedule of the classes of defined decisions which automatically trigger a preliminary assessment. These are decisions where a proposal, by itself or as part of a cumulative effect, could have a significant environmental impact. The various parts of the Territory are classified in the plan into one or other of 16 policy areas - residential,
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