Page 131 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 26 February 2014
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We are also going to further stimulate activity in new residential building through expanding the eligibility for homebuyer concessions. We are continuing to cut red tape through the ongoing work of the red tape reduction panel and we are cutting taxes on property, particularly phasing out stamp duty, which is the biggest inhibitor for those wanting to enter into the housing market. It will provide a significant long-term boost by reducing this insidious tax, a tax the Canberra Liberals want to increase.
The government has several development fronts underway across the city and we are looking at several more. We have launched Riverview in west Belconnen, Lawson in Belconnen and South Quay in the Tuggeranong town centre in addition to the balance of suburbs in Gungahlin, and of course the new releases in the Molonglo Valley.
It is important to note that developments in Queanbeyan and the surrounds have always been part of this region’s construction sector and have in the long run contributed about 10 per cent of total residential development in the Canberra/Queanbeyan area. In recent years this ratio has dipped somewhat—that is, Queanbeyan has supplied less than 10 per cent of the total residential component within this region. However, with the addition of new estates in Tralee and Googong, that will help Queanbeyan get back to their long-run average of supplying about 10 per cent of housing to this region.
Turning to the specifics of Mr Coe’s motion in relation to variation 306, only nine months ago the Assembly endorsed variation 306, which targeted significant improvement in residential amenity and the sustainability of development and subdivision quality. The changes to the territory plan proposed with variation 306 came into effect on 5 July. This introduced new provisions that protected the solar access of residential blocks, allowed secondary residences or granny flats with single dwellings, protected the neighbourhood character of RZ2 zones and enforced cohesive and consistent requirements in relation to estate development.
These changes are now an integral part of the territory plan, and variation 306 as a separate document no longer exists. Removing variation 306 provisions from the territory plan would now, of course, require a new territory plan variation which would introduce a new level of uncertainty for industry—hardly an action that we would be supporting in the industry at this time. Such an action would remove the ability for home owners to build a secondary residence on their blocks to support family members or others looking for a different form of housing. This housing form also provides a new market for the construction industry, and already architects, designers and builders are responding to the interest expressed in secondary residences.
Following industry feedback on the previous residential subdivision code, this code was enhanced to lock in the requirements of the other entities. The new development code now contains all of the requirements a developer needs to comply with in relation to the design of a subdivision. This gives clear direction and confidence that the requirements will be consistent from development to development.
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