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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 3 Hansard (7 March) . . Page.. 705 ..
MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, the answer to Mr Stefaniak's question is no. None of those things is true. The reason none of those things is true is that this government is committed to putting in place a clear and coherent framework that protects the residential amenity of Canberra's garden city suburbs, something which those opposite distinctly failed to do. Not only that, this government is committed to establishing a clear strategic planning framework for the future growth and development of this city, something those opposite clearly failed to deliver. On both counts, the Liberal Party has no credibility whatsoever on this issue.
Further, everyone engaged in this debate needs to appreciate that the delivery of neighbourhood plans and the delivery of a strategic planning framework for the city will deliver a very high level of certainty-a very high level of certainty for residents, a very high level of certainty for industry and a very high level of certainty for those who work, live, play, learn and invest in our suburbs and invest in our city. That is the whole focus of the planning for people policy that Labor took to the election.
Let us not forget that it was the crew opposite that managed to get nine of Canberra's unique garden city suburbs on the National Trust's endangered places program through their planning policies. It has to be a first for any ACT government, the people in charge of planning for the city, to get our unique garden city suburbs on the endangered places list of the National Trust. People like the former minister, Mr Smyth, thought it was all right to have piecemeal, ad hoc redevelopment activity fundamentally changing the character of our garden city suburbs and fundamentally changing the quality and amenity of places in which people live and invest.
In response, this government is moving to put in place a clear framework that delivers certainty for everyone. But part of any process of change is uncertainty. That is why this government has been out there talking to the industry and residents and, as we go through the period of change, explaining to people what that change is, how it is going to happen and what the outcome will be. I have to say that there has been overwhelming endorsement from people within industry and the community whom I have been speaking to that-
Mr Smyth: Not from the MBA.
MR CORBELL: Including from the MBA, that the neighbourhood planning process can deliver the certainty that the industry is looking for and that the neighbourhood planning process can deliver the certainty that residents are looking for. In marked contrast to the planning policies of those opposite, they have the strong endorsement of the Canberra community. It is something to which this government is committed.
Mr Smyth: Record jobs growth, record starts, record private sector investment!
MR SPEAKER: Order! The opposition invited Mr Corbell to speak to it. Please let him do so. I am sure that he has a lot more to say and it will all be very interesting.
MR CORBELL
: Mr Stefaniak asked me whether all the claims he was making were true, and I said no. I am going on to elaborate on why they are not true. They may not like the answer, but they should have thought of that before they asked me the question, Mr Speaker. They have not learned that planning is about protecting the public interest
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