Page 4745 - Week 11 - Thursday, 20 October 2011
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The draft planning strategy recognises that we will need to see 65,000 new dwellings built between now and 2030 to help meet that growing population, and we need to do that in a sustainable manner. So it focuses on keeping our city compact, minimising travel distances, having more people live along key corridors and around centres, where they are close to good public transport with good frequency, where they live close to services and retail activities and where they live close to where they work. This means, of course, that more people can choose active transport as the way they get around, at least for some of their journeys, whether that is walking or cycling or whether that is using public transport services. It allows the government to continue to invest in more efficient frequencies and better public transport services along those corridors.
But there is recognition as well that the suburban environment is an important one and that there will always be a requirement for some level of greenfields development. In this regard the planning strategy maps out where that greenfields development can potentially occur and highlights how that can occur in a manner which is consistent with the need to protect biodiversity and consistent with the need to manage the impact of greenfields development on the environment.
This is an important document, and a document which has been many months in the planning. I want to acknowledge the work of my predecessor as minister, Mr Barr, who has significantly led large chunks of this work, and of course the officers of the ACT Planning and Land Authority, who have undertaken significant work in engaging with the community. That, of course, is the real strength of this draft strategy—the fact that we have seen strong engagement from the community in developing the principles that underpin the assumptions in the strategy.
We will need to make some difficult decisions and trade-offs to achieve the preferred future for our city. It will require partnerships and collaboration. But I am conscious that this draft planning strategy is a great opportunity for everyone to have another say on where they believe their city should head when it comes to land use decisions. I encourage everyone to be involved through the consultation process which continues from now until the end of this year.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary, Mr Hargreaves.
MR HARGREAVES: Minister, how will the draft planning strategy assist in Canberra accommodating increased population in the future without compromising our suburban amenity?
MR CORBELL: Again, I thank Mr Hargreaves for the question. As I have previously said, the housing demand we expect to see between now and 2030 is for another 65,000 dwellings. That is a very significant increase in the overall number of dwellings in the city, and that is why we need to continue our greenfields planning for the remainder of Molonglo and for the Molonglo Valley, as is already outlined in the strategy. But we also need to focus on increasing the density around town and group centres and along those major transport corridors, and we also need to work with our neighbours over the border, recognising that some level of settlement will occur in the
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