Page 3695 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 28 October 2014
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MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Planning, Minister for Community Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations, Minister for Children and Young People and Minister for Ageing) (4.14): I would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Lawder for bringing this matter of public importance here today. I do want to say that I think our city is facing the challenges of the 21st century posed by building resilience to climate change, a growing and an ageing population and creating a viable, livable and walkable city.
They are not new issues, and this government has already acted by placing it at the forefront of the government’s policy agenda and developing contemporary and innovative, if not bold, solutions to these global issues at a local level. And we heard Ms Lawder’s concerns earlier this afternoon on keeping people active in the city. My portfolio area of planning includes, of course, active transport and plays an important role in delivering urban amenity for our city, and it is these areas which I will focus on today during the debate.
Planning has a defining role in helping to shape Canberra as a healthy, safe, prosperous and sustainable city. Good urban planning can shape our neighbourhoods to create high-quality public realm spaces and encourage active travel options of walking, cycling and public transport.
Canberrans want to live in a city that is truly sustainable and underpinned by a prosperous economy. We are uniquely placed to deliver a sustainable city vision because the city’s citizens are committed to creating high-quality, livable places, protecting the natural environment and securing the wellbeing of our community for future generations. Canberra is a city-state, the seat of Australia’s government and home to pre-eminent national institutions. We are also home to a highly educated, highly skilled and highly regarded workforce.
The recent ranking by the OECD of the ACT at the top of the OECD regional wellbeing ratings confirms the important contribution that leading best-practice planning delivers to the development of a sustainable and livable place. And we must all work hard to maintain the qualities that contribute to this ranking.
The Canberra community is right to seek better and more sustainable design and construction outcomes for buildings and public realm developments. This is a reasonable expectation and one that the government shares and, I can say, that the construction industry shares too. Recognising the value of good design across government creates the potential for improved buildings and public realm developments. The ACT government is responding by ensuring that design issues are incorporated into its planning policy documents. This, in turn, guides not only private investment but also public sector investment.
The city plan is a good example of where consideration has been given to ensuring careful planning of our public places and the relationship of those places to buildings and infrastructure and how that can, in turn, contribute to the livability and viability of the city as a whole. As the government implements the city plan, it will develop comprehensive design guidelines that will inform future land development and
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