Page 1043 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 2 May 2006
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Let me just highlight some of the statistics. Eighty-three per cent of commercial and multi-unit development applications have been determined within time during March, compared with the performance target of the planning and land authority of 75 per cent—so well above the performance target. The authority’s commercial and multi-unit DA teams have exceeded this 75 per cent performance target each month since July last year—a very strong result and one that indicates that the reforms the government has put in place are working. On top of that, 88 per cent of all single-dwelling development applications have been determined within time in March, compared with 80 per cent for March 2005 and the authority’s performance target of 90 per cent. The authority has exceeded its single-dwelling DA performance target in three of the last six months, with 94 per cent of determinations within time in October, 92 per cent in November and 91 per cent in January. Overall, the single-dwelling performance figures for the latest quarter were markedly better than for a year earlier.
This is very encouraging news, and it highlights the very strong steps the government and the planning and land authority have undertaken to ensure that we get development assessment happening in a speedier way. This will only be built on with the government’s planning system reform legislation, which will be debated by the Assembly later this year.
I would really like to draw to members’ attention the comments made by the Master Builders Association of the ACT, because we often hear from Mr Seselja and those opposite constant criticisms about how the planning system is inefficient, takes too long et cetera, et cetera. Mr Seselja is over there shaking his head, saying he does not do that; but I can point out where he does do it. I am very pleased to highlight what David Dawes, the executive director of the MBA ACT said in a media release of April this year, responding to the release of these latest figures. It states:
“As an industry we have worked hard to make the building regulatory process more efficient and the figures released by the Planning Minister, Simon Corbell provide real encouragement that we are headed in the right direction,” he said.
Mr Dawes said that the improving data released by the Government suggested that the ACT was moving towards becoming—
wait for it!
one of the most efficient planning jurisdictions in the country and this was something which would only encourage higher levels of investment in the national capital.
This is strong praise indeed from one of the peak building and construction industry groups in Canberra and a very strong vindication of the steps this government has taken to improve the assessment of development applications in the territory to ensure they get a timely decision and to ensure that where development applications are successful they can move ahead in an efficient and effective way.
I would like to put on the record my thanks to the staff of the ACT Planning and Land Authority for the work that they have undertaken, particularly in the last 12 months, to dramatically improve development assessment times for both single dwellings and
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