Page 3024 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 15 September 2015
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community, recreation, transport and services; and implementing a transport action plan, addressing corridor-wide arterial bypasses, public transport, city parking and local area traffic management, and reviewing urban infrastructure standards to create streets for people. Through the city area action plan we have invested $20 million in public realm upgrades, improving security, walkability and public amenity of the city.
The government will continue to focus through the city plan on a range of specific initiatives on renewal within the CBD. This includes work on the redevelopment of the Allawah, Bega and Currong flats complex on the city edge; the city to the lake program; and the Constitution Avenue upgrade. We have recently extended the City West precinct deed with the ANU that identifies three sites and a four-year land release program to facilitate ongoing growth.
In the 2015-16 budget we provided funding for footpath and lighting upgrades for Braddon and Hague Park and we have prepared a new deed of grant to manage and administer the city centre marketing and improvements levy. We are also in the process of developing an action plan for the activation of Garema Place, and we will continue to work with CBD Ltd to fund a series of fantastic events in the CBD. Of course, we have the courts project announcement in the not-too-distant future—major infrastructure for the city as part of urban renewal.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (4.06): l thank Mr Coe for raising this issue today, because the ACT Greens have a vision for what genuine urban renewal looks like. We are lucky to be able to enjoy both the quiet, green, spacious suburbs as well as the humming inner city living with all its vibrancy. We are fortunate we still have time to plan the shape of our city and what it will look like, and we should maximise that opportunity.
Indeed, like other members, I attended the Property Council forum on the CBD last week. It was a very interesting session and some great ideas were shared. But I was reflecting on the fact that a range of other town centres are also important and also require similar efforts to ensure they are successful and vibrant. The forum identified the need for partnerships between government and the private sector, and that is something there is plenty of scope for in the ACT. We have seen positive examples of partnerships, and I think we have got a lot more scope to do those sorts of things.
The Greens also support mechanisms for developer contributions such as the lease variation charge. We have always supported the principle of the LVC, and we have negotiated special remissions for social housing, child care and high environmental ratings for buildings. They are policy levers that can be used in this process. We believe it is appropriate that, when a significant financial gain is made from the change in a lease purpose clause, the community derives some of that benefit. That is a principle we have stood by in the debate about the lease variation charge. Mr Smyth is bringing this issue forward tomorrow in private members’ business, so we will get a further chance to discuss it.
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