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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 279 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

Mr Speaker, this motion is to provide time for members of the Assembly and the public to look at the government's bill. It is not an attempt to slow down the process. The Public Accounts Committee would deal with this bill expeditiously at its regular meeting next Wednesday and report the following Tuesday morning, which would allow the passage of the bill in the government's timetable.

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism and Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming) (10.49): The government has no objection to that level of scrutiny. I have not looked at my diary for next Wednesday, but we ministers will see what we can do about defending each of the items in the bill.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Land (Planning and Environment) (Compliance) Amendment Bill 2003

Mr Corbell , pursuant to notice, presented the bill and its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR CORBELL (Minister for Health and Minister for Planning) (10.50): I move:

Mr Speaker, the Assembly will recall that on 20 November last year I asked the Assembly to note the government's proposal to undertake a review of the Land, Planning and Environment Act 1991 in 2003, with an exposure draft of new legislation in mid-2004.

In the Labor Party policy platform for the last election, the stated objectives of this government included restoring the community's confidence in Canberra's planning system, achieving the balance our city needs to grow and change as we all grow and change, protecting Canberra's unique planning heritage, and enhancing the quality of residential and urban amenity we all value.

Accordingly, I have pleasure in presenting the Land (Planning and Environment) (Compliance) Amendment Bill 2003. The bill provides for the amendment of the Land (Planning and Environment) Act 1991 and subordinate laws for the purpose of improving planning and leasing compliance powers. Further, it provides for a more streamlined resolution of building encroachment issues.

The objective of the amendments is to empower departmental officers to impose a range of immediate and simple sanctions on lessees who contravene their leases, and to improve the effectiveness of monitoring development activity. Planning and land management has been pursuing a range of initiatives aimed at meeting this objective.

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