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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 843 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

The committee reported on both draft variations in June 2001, making a number of recommendations. The report recommended the draft variations be amended to provide for one final variation for all group centres, including Kippax. This has been done.

The report also made 15 other specific recommendations about the form of the final variation and about the future development for community facilities in Kippax. The recommendations concerning the group centres variation (No 158) have, in the main, been agreed to and incorporated in the final document.

In relation to the recommendations on centre master plans, I can advise the Assembly that the general intent of the committee's recommendations has been accepted. Whilst master plans remain a valuable mechanism to guide development in group centres, the formalised centre master plan concept, as originally set out in DVP 158, has been reviewed in light of the committee's recommendations.

The policies in draft variation to the Territory Plan No 158 would have enabled the approval of development proposals that would not otherwise be permissible, provided they were in accordance with an approved centre master plan. The committee's concern about this use of master plans is acknowledged.

However, the effect of the committee's recommendations would be to make the centre master plan process very similar to the Territory Plan variation process, without giving it the same statutory basis. This has the potential to cause confusion for proponents and the community and would not assist in achieving better outcomes or a more streamlined process. It is therefore proposed that the provisions relating to formalised centre master plans be removed from variation 158.

This means that whilst master plans may be prepared by PALM from time to time to guide development, a development proposal which would not be permitted under the revised policies in variation 158 would be approved only after a further variation to the Territory Plan.

There was also a recommendation about resubmitting variation 158 to the committee after it had been revised. This was agreed to in principle. However, as I am the only remaining member of the former committee, I believe it is appropriate for me to consider the responses to the committee's recommendations without referring the variation to a completely new standing committee. A new committee would have difficulty considering the variation without extensive briefings, which could take several months.

I am satisfied that the variation I am tabling today quite appropriately reflects the position of the previous committee. The previous committee did not support the Kippax variation (No 163), but their recommendations relating to Kippax have been included in the group centres variation (No 158).

In relation to the recommendations concerning community facilities at Kippax, the government has announced that it will be undertaking a needs assessment to plan for community facilities in Central Canberra, Belconnen and Gungahlin in 2001-02. This assessment will assist the community in determining the demand for a range of community facilities in these districts, both now and for the future. Such multipurpose

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