Page 4991 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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Calwell’s group centre was not considered to meet all the criteria for the first year priority list for master planning, but its priority will be established through the public consultation which is now underway on the ACT’s draft planning strategy. If we are to focus our efforts in a strategic and considered manner we have to first of all look at the highest order planning document for the territory, which is our planning strategy, which identifies where we expect to see increased development or redevelopment activity, and ensure that we have an appropriate planning framework in place to guide and support that redevelopment activity as we work towards trying to accommodate the 65,000 dwellings that we expect will need to be built to meet our growing population between now and 2030.
We have to view the master planning exercise as a direct response to ensuring that the planning strategy itself can be implemented in an orderly and efficient manner. So Calwell must be and will be considered by the government in that context. For those reasons the government obviously believes the motion needs to be amended along the lines proposed by Mr Barr.
I will turn now to Ms Bresnan’s amendment. Ms Bresnan’s amendment first of all recognises that the government is doing work in relation to park and ride at Calwell, and I would be happy to address those matters shortly. She also recognises and asks the government to consider a range of other matters. I welcome that Ms Bresnan is saying that any master plan for Calwell should be prioritised in the context of the overall planning strategy and I take her at her word on her position that whether or not there is a master plan for Calwell should be determined in the context of the overall planning strategy and its relative priority. That is indeed the government’s position.
If Ms Bresnan is saying in her amendment that, if and when such a master planning exercise commences, a range of issues such as childcare provision, provision of other retail facilities and alternative sites for any proposed pool development should be considered in the context of that master planning exercise, the government is comfortable with that position. If Ms Bresnan is saying that these are matters that should be taken into account if and when a master plan takes place, that is a reasonable position from the government’s perspective. I will take it that that is what the Greens’ position is and that they are not saying this needs to happen now with priority given to a Calwell master plan now. So I take it that that is what Ms Bresnan is saying.
Turning to the issues of transport infrastructure more generally, and in particular park-and-ride facilities, I was very pleased to meet with representatives of Calwell traders in the last week or so and to have a discussion with them about management of transport issues in the Calwell group centre. The government has, and I was pleased to confirm this to those representatives, committed to look at the establishment of a small-scale park-and-ride facility at Calwell. Those facilities are of a modest scale to address perceived demand for commuter parking and use of public transport, and it is something which the government believes can be trialled at that location. The government is currently looking at how the existing commuter park-and-ride facility at Calwell can be expanded to provide some additional spaces to take pressure off the existing car park to allow patrons, customers, to park at the centre for their shopping
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