Page 613 - Week 02 - Thursday, 20 March 2014
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applicants who responded to the advertisements has since been completed. The next stage involves seeking non-binding indicative offers from the short-listed applicants. These will then be assessed before proceeding to the final, binding bid and execution stage.
The government is intending to complete the sale by 30 June 2014. It is therefore important for this bill to be passed at an early stage to facilitate the effective sales process by providing improved certainty to bidders as to when the actual sale may be accomplished. I commend the Bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Smyth) adjourned to the next sitting.
Planning and Development (Project Facilitation) Amendment Bill 2014
Mr Corbell, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (11.42): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
I am pleased to present the Planning and Development (Project Facilitation) Amendment Bill 2014. This bill cuts building industry red tape and fast-tracks priority developments in the territory. The bill is a critical part of the government’s recently announced stimulus package and will help our building industry through difficult economic times.
The bill has two main attributes: transparency and efficiency. The bill will enable the government to continue to make open and accountable planning decisions whilst improving efficiency and reducing time delays for major projects in the territory which deliver substantial public benefits. The bill seeks to put in place a new process for the government to put key priority community projects to the people of Canberra through the Legislative Assembly for comment and endorsement. The bill will require the government of the day to declare its hand and nominate these priority projects at the beginning of the planning process.
The bill includes a number of measures for efficient progressing of planning matters. The bill permits priority projects to be progressed quickly and with high priority through the planning system. The bill adds to the options available to the private sector to facilitate major projects. I will now discuss these different areas in more detail.
Members would recall that there have been a number of debates in this place on the need for legislation to fast-track or prioritise a particular project or projects. For
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