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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 3969 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

This bill makes a number of changes to the land act and to other acts and regulations to transfer responsibility for management of the above functions to the authority. The minister will continue to have call-in powers under the land act, but the exercise of those powers is clarified and made more accountable. The government has agreed to a recommendation from the Planning and Environment Committee that the minister be required to table any advice received by the Planning and Land Council in relation to the exercise of the call-in power.

The Planning and Land Authority will have the ability to reconsider its own decisions on development applications. I would like to repeat the detail of this new power, as it has been occasionally misunderstood. This new function will enable the authority to revise its decisions, to the benefit of the community, objectors and applicants. The absence of such a procedure has been a serious weakness in the system to date. The decision-maker has very little scope to resolve issues that may lead to a better outcome after an initial decision has been made. That has forced the resolution of many matters to go to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal rather through an agreed process prior to a party having to resort to appeal in the AAT.

New sections 246 to 246C in the land act will allow the authority, on application by the proponent, to reconsider a decision on a development application. This also provides the opportunity for the greater use of mediation in the process. Reconsideration of a decision may not result in a decision that would not have been possible in respect of the original application. It will ensure that the procedure is not open to abuse by those who merely wish to trawl for better outcomes for themselves, without having to address potential objections and appeals. That objective is also assisted by the possibility that an approval could be reduced or overturned on reconsideration.

Any objectors to the original application must be given an opportunity to comment on a proposed reconsideration, and those comments must be taken into account. If a person is not satisfied with the new decision, they may exercise any right of appeal to the AAT that exists in relation to the matter. Appeal rights are not affected by the authority's power to reconsider its decision.

Part 3 of the act, relating to heritage matters, is not substantially amended by this bill. Part 3, as Mrs Dunne pointed out, is under separate review in relation to the new Heritage Bill. Similarly, part 4 of the land act, which relates to environmental assessments and inquiries, is not significantly amended and is to be reviewed next year.

The bill makes very few changes that relate to the making of orders. The government has developed separate legislation that comprehensively reviews the enforcement provisions under the land act, most of which are not consequential upon passage of the Planning and Land Bill.

Several other acts and regulations are amended to align with changes to the land act, particularly in respect of references to a planning authority and the transfer of certain functions to the new Planning and Land Authority.

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