Page 5568 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 17 November 2010

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Development Act makes a clear distinction between variations to the territory plan other than technical amendments and pure technical amendments. The former, as variations to the territory plan, are treated in a completely different way to a pure technical variation.

Under part 5.3, a stringent and comprehensive process is outlined that must be followed before variations can and should be approved. It includes how the process starts, consultation requirements, ministerial requirements, public consultation notification requirements, effect of draft plan notifications, requirements for availability of draft plan variations, public inspections and comments, revision and withdrawal of plans, the documents that must be given to the minister and public notification that documents have been given to the minister.

There are a whole raft of sections about the involvement of the Assembly in variations: the minister may refer to a committee, committee reports, the minister’s powers in the process, variations have to be presented to the Assembly, the power that the Assembly may reject plan variations completely or partly, consequences of rejection and commencement and publication provisions.

Of course, we compare this to the truncated process for technical amendments. As well as a definitions section, it only provides for limited consultation and the physical process for making the variation. That is it. Limited consultation is defined:

(1) The planning and land authority undertakes limited consultation for a proposed technical amendment if the authority complies with this section in relation to the amendment.

(2) The planning and land authority must publish a notice in a daily newspaper that—

(a) describes the proposed technical amendment; and

(b) states where a copy of the proposed plan variation and information about the amendment is available for inspection; and

(3) The period stated under subsection (2)(c) for making representations must be at least 15 working days.

(4) The planning and land authority must tell the national capital authority about the proposed technical amendment.

(5) The planning and land authority must consider—

(a) any representation made in accordance with the notice under subsection (2) and

(b) any views of the national capital authority.

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