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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (13 December) . . Page.. 253 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

therefore be encouraging participation by ACT adults in adult education through guaranteeing a diverse range of providers which meet the needs of individuals and respond effectively to different learning content, styles and requirements.

We will actively promote stronger links between the Canberra Institute of Technology and schools, particularly emphasising credit transfer and other ways of streamlining the flow of students between institutions. This is to ensure the most efficient use of available resources to achieve the best possible results. We will also promote stronger links between the Canberra Institute of Technology and ACT-based universities. This will allow CIT graduates to continue further with their tertiary education and again promote efficient cross-utilisation of resources.

Mr Speaker, as you can see, the government's agenda for education is strategic and an accessible vision for continuous learning. It ensures that intellectual and human capital is acknowledged as the source of individual and community prosperity. The concept is to unite children, their parents and their grandparents under a single unifying concept for their advancement and wellbeing.

Mr Speaker, planning was also a key agenda in the recent election campaign, and one in relation to which the new Labor government outlined a distinct alternative to the approach adopted by our predecessors. Rather than simply seeking to moderate and accommodate the different interests in planning and development in our city, the new government will put in place a strategic, whole-of-government approach.

Investing in planning is about investing in our common future, a future that will require maintaining our unique and world-class built community, as well as addressing contemporary issues of sustainability and equity.

In this centenary of federation year, a year in which we have celebrated 100 years of planning for the national capital as well as the 50th anniversary of the Planning Institute of Australia, it is very appropriate to talk about planning and the vision for the city of Canberra, a city which is built on a planning vision.

As minister, I will honour my statements on previous occasions that this Assembly needs to take a strategic, long-term view of Canberra's planning. We will establish a strategic planning framework which will take account of transport, population growth, employment location, land availability, retail and leisure activities, ecological constraints and community and environmental values. No aspect of long-term planning will be left untouched.

I would ask members of the Assembly, especially those who will serve on our committees, to think strategically about planning and how we can achieve the best outcomes for Canberra. It is time to challenge the community, the professions and members of this place about contemporary planning practice and the way in which the Assembly can play its role.

Given the nature of our dual planning system, I will be making fresh approaches to the Commonwealth government to pursue avenues for closer cooperation on planning. I am also initiating ongoing discussions with the New South Wales government on those key issues which we share-regional planning, sustainability and quality urban design.

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