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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 2163 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

The Board emphasises that it has no evidence that any politician or public official has acted in a position of conflict of interest or has ever put interest arising from personal or other relationships above that of the community.

In particular, I note that the report also says:

The Board accepts Mr Townsend's assurances that he has never acted in bad faith, incompetently, corruptly or favoured private interests over public interests.

On this basis I want to draw the line. We want to look to the future. We want to stop carrying on about the past. We hope that other stakeholders with an interest in Canberra's planning and development will share this view and support us in taking the necessary steps to implement change. We will report in full our response to the board of inquiry's report when the Assembly sits again in February. During this time the report will also be considered by the Assembly's Planning Committee. We look forward to their input.

The report is damning of the administration of Canberra's leasehold going back well before self-government. It is also critical of the administration of planning and land development in recent years. All of its criticisms may or may not be justified. I have asked my department to set up a task force to consider its implications and to develop an implementation plan. In the meantime we propose some immediate steps. The inquiry report is critical of the lack of strategic planning for the Territory's future. We have already taken steps to ensure that the development of strategic planning for the city's future is given a high priority. Last week, jointly with the Minister for Housing and Regional Development, Brian Howe, I announced a review of Canberra's metropolitan growth strategy. Canberra's dual community and national capital roles make it critical that the Commonwealth and ACT governments develop a shared strategic view of how Canberra is to develop and grow in the future. Ms Moiya Ford has agreed to take on the task of establishing the metropolitan growth strategy review team in the Chief Minister's Department. This highly significant initiative will ensure that the strategic framework of Canberra's future development is given a high priority within the context of broad community consultation.

In relation to the administration of strategy land use planning processes, the Government is currently considering its options. We are currently reviewing alternative ways of strengthening the independence of the Territory Planning Authority and improving local area planning. We will finalise our position on the administration of statutory planning in parallel with our deliberations on the recommendations of the inquiry into Canberra's leasehold.

While this work is taking place, the Chief Planner has agreed to temporarily move to another important position. He will be undertaking a task concerning the implementation of the high-speed rail project and its potential linkages to Canberra Airport. This will enable him and the Territory Planning Authority to undertake their tasks unfettered by the Government's deliberations on the recommendations of the inquiry and the related findings of the red tape task force report. Ms Annabelle Pegrum will be Acting Chief Planner.

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