Page 801 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 13 April 1994
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In reality, what we have achieved in the Planning Committee process should demonstrate to the people of Canberra that this Assembly really does work. From the disparate backgrounds and experiences of the members of this Assembly on the committee, we have been able on all but two occasions to arrive at unanimous reports of the committee. That has taken a great deal of patience by members; it has taken a great deal of research and, I suggest, a great deal of understanding of the issues and their impact upon the wider community, the individuals concerned, and the business interests associated with those issues. I think it is great testimony to the committee members that we have been able to achieve that.
I also wish to pay tribute to a former member of the committee, Mr Kaine. During my stewardship of this committee I was extremely fortunate to have the corporate memory of Mr Kaine, both as a former Planning Minister and as a former chairperson of the committee. I place on public record my gratitude to Mr Kaine for what, quite frankly, was very necessary guidance to me, particularly in the early months of the establishment of this committee. Notwithstanding that it was in those early months, I still valued highly, although I did not always agree with, the views Mr Kaine put on a whole range of matters.
Mr Kaine: You are more than welcome, and I will continue to advise you, Minister.
MR LAMONT: Mr Kaine, you can rest assured that I will continue to take as much notice of you as I have in the past. There is one other person to whom I wish to place on record my great gratitude. It is not easy for the committee secretariat to operate in the timeframes that we in this chamber set or that are set by legislation. There are competing requirements both of our time and of the resources of the secretariat.
I have said before, in relation to the Territory Plan and the work done by Rod Power on that and all other matters he dealt with, that, if ever a test were needed by which committee secretaries should be judged, that test would be Rod Power. I believe that the work he does on behalf of the people of Canberra too often is unsung, and I have much pleasure in taking this opportunity to put on the public record my appreciation as the former chair of this committee.
In relation to the guidelines that have been tabled by Mr De Domenico on behalf of the committee, these guidelines and the work that is being done on the B2 guidelines for the Kingston area represent probably the most radical change to medium density development guidelines that has ever been introduced in the ACT. The question of design excellence, excellence in amenity not only of the occupants of medium density developments but also of the wider community, has been taken into account, as have the social issues that we believed needed to be addressed in the social planning context - the open space, the environmental issues, tree preservation, the issues of good business, good high-class professional development. That is the objective of these guidelines, and I think it was the basis upon which all members of the committee commenced their consideration of the guidelines.
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