Page 2633 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 5 June 2012
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community. The path for change that is being set out in the strategy will be based around outcomes that we as a community have identified as important to achieve and will present clear and defined strategies to achieve them.
Together with its refreshed strategies on transport, climate change, energy, social equity, health and affordability, the ACT planning strategy will guide our planning and development and ensure that the city is able to be recognised as a sustainable city in the future.
The government has already published its ACT waste management strategy that sets out clear directions for the management of waste and reaffirms the government’s commitment to progress its goal of zero recoverable waste sent to landfill. The ACT is now one of the leading jurisdictions in waste management in Australia with over 70 per cent of waste generated in the ACT reused or recycled. But there is more to be done. The government realises that better waste management is an opportunity to relieve pressure on raw materials, through the recycling and reuse of products and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure Canberra remains a clean, safe place to live and enjoy.
The goal of this strategy is to ensure that the ACT leads innovation to achieve full resource recovery and a carbon neutral waste sector. This will come through the achievement of four outcomes: reduced waste generation, full resource recovery, a cleaner environment and a carbon neutral waste sector. An implementation plan to support the waste strategy 2011 is currently under development.
Further, the government’s transport for Canberra strategy launched in March this year responds to all the actions identified in the commissioner’s report in this regard. That strategy clearly sets out a path to deliver on a key government priority—providing an effective and efficient transport system that meets the needs of the community while reducing environmental and social impacts.
This is a coordinated transport approach guided by six principles: integrating transport with land use planning; making active travel the easy way to get around; providing sustainable travel options and reducing transport emissions; moving people safely around the city; improving accessibility; and efficient and cost-effective management of travel demand across the system.
This strategy builds on the government’s infrastructure investments since 2001. It incorporates the government’s policies on improving access and use of sustainable forms of transport. It also supports improved vehicle occupancy rates, the provision of appropriate bus, timetable, cycling and walking infrastructure and promotes behaviour change and informed transport decision making by our community.
The final plank in the government’s platform of adaptation and environmental strategies is in its revitalised think water, act water strategy. Currently under development, this strategy will take a broader and integrated catchment management approach to our water responsibilities and will consider the commissioner’s recommendations in relation to sediment and erosion mitigation, water sensitive urban design and actions to mitigate impacts of urban development on water quality.
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