Page 733 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Despite these problems which I have noted with the construction occupations legislation—and obviously not all of these could be addressed by the bill today—the Greens will be supporting this bill.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Planning, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Gaming and Racing) (12.01), in reply: I thank the opposition and the Greens for their support of this legislation. I just put on the public record in relation to Ms Le Couteur’s last comments that the article in the Canberra Times took the concept of a reward for good outcomes in this particular area beyond anything that I had mentioned to the Owners Corporation Network.
The government’s proposal in this area was a possibility of the network, perhaps in partnership with the Planning and Land Authority, supporting an award each year for good practice and for the best practice in the industry in this particular area. How that came to be misreported in the Canberra Times as some sort of financial incentive is beyond me. However, I was not privy to the conversation between the journalist and the Owners Corporation Network, so I cannot comment there. But what I can comment on is the nature of the discussions I had with the Owners Corporation Network where we did float the possibility that, along with many other industry awards each year, we might consider looking at something along those lines.
But back to the bill itself: it does recognise the vital economic contribution that the construction and building industry makes to Canberra and the region. Perhaps the size of the ACT building industry is often overlooked. It employs nearly 14,000 Canberrans. That is more than the tourism industry, although they are very close; they are nearly on a par there. It is the third largest industry employer in the ACT, behind government administration, defence, and property and business services. It is an effective partner with the government in the key challenges of keeping our local economy strong, keeping Canberrans in their jobs and developing Canberra in a socially and environmentally sustainable way.
That is why the government will continue to work to ensure that our planning system is simpler, faster and more effective. It is why we will continue to work closely with industry through the industry monitoring group. It is why we will keep politics out of planning, to give investors and community certainty. And it is why we are cutting red tape wherever we find it.
This bill is another example of the government delivering on these measures. It streamlines and improves the efficacy of the unit titling processes, which will result in benefits for both developers and homebuyers. It will give developers more certainty and flexibility and will, in turn, help them to deliver more affordable housing.
I thank the opposition parties for their support for this bill today and commend it to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video