Page 2020 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 May 2009
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Generally in Woden, Weston Creek and the majority of Belconnen the centres were placed at the centre of neighbourhoods located near community facilities. However, in north Belconnen and north Tuggeranong, corner stores were introduced. In response to the decline in trade, local centres in more recently developed areas of southern Tuggeranong and Gungahlin are being spaced more widely. This increases viability by providing a greater population in their catchment. Whilst mandating commercial space, release conditions often do not mandate the provision of convenience retailing. In the latter case—generally adopted to serve areas of smaller populations—it is up to the market to determine the mix of commercial uses at the centre.
So given all of this, it would be inappropriate for an arbitrary maximum target of 600 square metres to be imposed on supermarkets at local centres. The appropriate size should be determined after examining the likely catchment for the centres, and this would include considering the likely population to be served, its socioeconomic characteristics, and the location of other centres. I believe this is a process best handled in the ongoing review of the territory plan.
I remind members that it was a little more than a year ago in this place that the territory plan was adopted unanimously by this Assembly. It is reasonable for business and the community to expect that the Planning and Land Authority will apply the policy, as set unanimously by the Assembly, without any political interference.
In the ministerial statement I made in the last sitting I said that above all else this government is determined to keep the politics out of planning. I genuinely look forward to the day that this becomes a cross-party consensus in Canberra, but, until then, I am content to fight for it as Labor’s view—no to short-term partisan politics, yes to long-term, evidence-based policy. Let me reiterate that the government wants to keep politics out of planning. This, however, requires discipline. The independent statutory planning authority must exercise the discipline to be rigorously independent and free of political influence over the outcome of individual development application approvals.
There is a responsibility then on the Legislative Assembly to exercise the discipline to make planning policy carefully, deliberately and in response to the general good and not to isolated campaigns and individual development applications. In line with these comments, I seek leave to move the amendments circulated in my name.
Leave granted.
MR BARR: I move:
“(1) omit paragraph (1)(b); and
(2) in paragraph (3), omit all words after “calls on the Government to”, substitute:
“(a) continue its support for the current retail hierarchy of local, group and town centres in the ACT;
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