Page 2846 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 August 2005
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How can the committee engage the community at this point? First off, once a task force has presented its report to government, it should call a meeting with representatives of peak bodies such as the conservation council, ACTCOSS and representatives from the disability, community and arts organisations, to explain those principles and devise strategies for involving the broader community in future planning.
Second, we suggest that a community-values exercise be set in progress, to engage the so-called mums and dads, the clubbers and the other ordinary people who do not usually bother to attend consultations but who do have an opinion on their city. Deliberations of the task force and its recommendations to government should be transparent and easily available. An interactive website would be an excellent start. So much work has been done on successful community engagement by this government and its predecessors that it would be a great shame not to use it in this process.
Third, it is important that we address the fragmentation of municipal administration. That must be addressed in the institutional arrangements that we arrive at for rebuilding and maintaining our city. Currently, management systems for land use planning, urban design, municipal repairs and maintenance, lease administration, road design and public transport services are poorly coordinated. This requires work on behalf of the two governments involved, federal and territory. For a successful outcome on Civic we need good cooperation between these bodies.
Finally, our motion calls on the government to ensure that key funding questions are dealt with transparently. Both the Snow and the Young-Wright plans suggest that the proposed developments could be self-funding. The Greens believe that, one way or another, the government will be paying for Civic development, if not directly with money then through putting up the land. Either way, the cost to the community in the medium to long term will be the same.
The Greens do not at this stage have a fully worked-through plan to offer, but we suggest that the following principles should underlie any changes to Civic:
• the approach to redesigning Civic should be holistic, taking into account social, ecological and economic aspects at all stages and look at all parts in relation to the whole of Civic;
• we should not look at Civic in isolation from the rest of the ACT;
• Civic should be connected to other parts of the city by excellent public transport;
• we should consider the entire city centre, including City West, the lake shores, City Hill and major roads;
• redevelopment should be based on a master plan, produced with community consultation;
• it should be built at the human scale;
• it should incorporate public open space;
• it should have a fair proportion of open space and buildings dedicated to community use;
• it should have a level of affordable housing amongst the residential development;
• it should consider the birds and other native fauna and ensure that there are areas of native vegetation to make them feel at home, because this is one thing that makes Canberra unique;
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