Page 2013 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 May 2009

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Question so resolved in the negative.

Shops—local centres

MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (4 :42): I move:

That this Assembly:

(1) notes:

(a) the importance to communities of maintaining local shops, demonstrated by over 250 submissions to the ACT Planning and Land Authority (ACTPLA) regarding the Giralang Shops development proposal; and

(b) that the new Territory Plan has removed references to size restrictions for the gross floor area of shops in local centres, which was a change to policy;

(2) also notes the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recommendation in its July 2008 report into the competitiveness on retail prices for standard groceries that:

(a) “government consider ways in which zoning and planning laws, and decisions in respect of individual planning applications where additional retail space for the purpose of operating a supermarket is contemplated, should have specific regard to the likely impact of the proposal on competition between supermarkets in the area. Particular regard should be had to whether the proposal will facilitate the entry of a supermarket operator not currently trading in the area”; and

(b) relating to current limits to the level of price competition, that there are “high barriers to entry and expansion particularly in relation to difficulties in finding new sites for development”; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) commit to maintaining the current retail hierarchy of local, group and town centres in the ACT;

(b) limit supermarkets in local centres to a gross floor area of 600 square metres under the Local Centres Precinct Code – CZ4 of the Territory Plan;

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