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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 7 Hansard (4 June) . . Page.. 1888 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

to facilitate the best planning outcome for the community, including the provision of community facilities.

Amending the variation as suggested by Mrs Dunne would be a rejection, first and foremost, of the advice of the former Planning and Urban Services Committee, advice which has been accepted by this government and incorporated into the variation. Amending the variation as Mrs Dunne suggests would not achieve anything except entrench the policies that have existed in the Territory Plan since 1993. This is not, in the government's view, in the best interests of progressing a good outcome for the Kippax area and the community it serves.

As I indicated at question time today, the government has already undertaken a number of studies that relate to Kippax, and some of the other recommendations of the committee's report, with a view to resolving issues relating to the provision of community facilities and the future of the library. I will certainly endeavour to keep the Assembly informed as this work progresses.

These reviews are being conducted by various ACT agencies in relation to the provision of a library and of health and community facilities in the Kippax and West Belconnen area. They will provide updated information on the needs of the community, which have significantly changed in the last 20 years. The results of these studies are due in September this year. At that time the government will begin work on the preparation of a comprehensive strategy for all of the unleased territory land in Kippax, including block 53, which Mrs Dunne is concerned about.

This strategy will be developed in consultation with the community and interested stakeholders. Whilst I do not propose that it revisit issues associated with existing leased land, it will identify currently unleased sites to be reserved for future community purposes as well as provide a framework for the orderly lease of remaining land for development.

I said when I tabled the variation that, if the studies confirm the committee's recommendations for a community centre, sites will be identified and reserved. I am also prepared to make a commitment that none of the unleased land between the existing library and Kippax Fair will be sold before this strategy is completed and the government has made its decision about the future community facility needs of Kippax. That is an important commitment and one I am prepared to make to reassure the West Belconnen community that land will not be released prior to decisions being made about permanent sites for a library, a community centre or, indeed, a range of other community needs.

I will now address the issues raised by Mrs Dunne about Calwell. The restrictions on the location of residential uses within group centres have been included to avoid the sort of problem experienced over years with proposals like the Aranda development, which caused so much concern within that community. Whilst the government agrees that a degree of residential use is appropriate within our commercial centres, it does not believe it should be allowed in an uncontrolled way. Otherwise, residential use has the potential to consume group centres such that they are unable to provide the services and facilities for which they were originally planned.

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