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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (24 May) . . Page.. 1625 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

There is a need for elected governments to be able to implement the planning policies on which they were elected, but there is also a need for the public to have faith that the Planning Authority, which is also responsible for protecting the public interest and avoiding the market failure that is inherent in the land market, is at arms-length from government. That is, they must believe that it is not solely an agent of the government. This is what this bill seeks to achieve.

Contrast this situation with the current provisions of the land act, which do not guarantee the independence of the Planning Authority, and the existing provisions for executive policy direction of the Planning Authority, which are rarely, if ever, used. Currently, under the existing act, the executive does have the capacity to direct the authority, but this is a power that is hardly ever used. Why? Because it does not need to be.

The existing structure, where the ACT Planning Authority is comprised of public servants responsible directly to the minister, ensures that the Planning Authority is under the complete control of the executive, and that authority's capacity to provide independent advice is lost. In short, the minister does not need to formally direct the authority under section 37 of the existing act because a phone call will do. The situation has compromised the independence of the advice that the government and the Assembly receive on planning issues, and this is the situation that must be changed.

To further achieve this, my bill provides for the chief planner-that is, the Planning Authority-to engage and direct staff working for the authority. Section 40 of the principal act is amended by my bill to allow the chief planner to have all of the powers of a chief executive in relation to the staff assisting him or her. So the staff for the chief planner of the ACT Planning Authority will be responsible to the chief planner, not to the minister.

Independence is a central theme of this bill. To further guarantee the integrity of the chief planner and to protect the position from improper influence, the bill stipulates that the chief planner cannot be a public employee. This may seem a strange provision at first to members, but it will avoid the situation where a public servant who becomes the chief planner can be influenced by the government because they fear for the future of their substantive positions in the public service. This situation obviously has to be avoided if the chief planner and the planning authority are able to act independently.

The bill also provides for the Legislative Assembly to direct the minister to direct the authority in relation to specific criteria outlined in the bill. This replaces existing section 37 of the principal act, where the Assembly can only request the minister to direct the authority. This change, through the bill, gives greater authority to the Assembly in relation to planning and land use matters. However, I must stress that this provision is introduced on my understanding that it would be used only where the Assembly had no confidence in the minister's relationship with the authority. In short, it is a power that should be available to the Assembly, but one that should only be used in exceptional circumstances.

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