Page 3455 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 September 2015
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Too many of Canberra’s existing suburbs were built without consideration of modern design principles, making it harder to build energy efficient homes. The Canberra of the future has to be designed in a smart and sustainable way, with an awareness of the challenges we face from our changing environment and rising energy costs. I invite Mr Coe to join with his national leader, Mr Turnbull, to embrace innovation and to embrace the future, and resist the temptation to hang out with Tony Abbott’s negativity, fear of the future and climate change scepticism.
The Greens are pleased that solar considerations have been embedded in our planning laws. We need to design our homes in a way that makes sense in their environmental context, to maximise solar gain in winter and reduce our energy use. There are now great examples of builders that have been doing this successfully, and industry is learning how to do this better. In some cases the conversion of the principle of solar access into a set of rules has led to undesirable outcomes. We would always welcome practical refinement to the rules to achieve the desired outcomes, after careful consideration.
My office has had discussions with Minister Gentleman’s office and ACTPLA about issues relating to the implementation of the solar requirements, as we have received extensive community and industry feedback since they came into effect. It is clear that in addition to positive outcomes, there have also been a number of unintended outcomes that need reviewing.
It seems that most of the specific concerns that have been raised with me appear to be along the lines of unintended consequences, not substantial policy disagreement. That is a very important point to make, because we do not need to throw the whole thing out; we need to look at refinement to make sure that we are getting absolutely the outcomes that we are seeking.
Generally, conversations I have had with stakeholders have suggested that rejecting solar provisions completely is not the answer. We need to learn from our earlier experiences and analyse any problems so that we can adjust accordingly. My office has spoken with and met a broad range of stakeholders, including the Master Builders Association, the Australian Institute of Architects, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, the Property Council and a range of other industry and community members. I have passed the feedback I have received from these groups on to Minister Gentleman’s office, as the government has committed to seeking further feedback on specific areas of concern with a view to further amendments.
It is important to note that, despite complaints from some sections of the building industry, many home owners are grateful to know that they can build a passive solar house in the knowledge that they cannot be overshadowed by a neighbour to the north.
I believe more information is required from developers to inform purchasers on appropriate blocks for their desired house type. There are examples where people have tried to fit a very large house on a small block and in some places chosen to dig their house into the ground to avoid overshadowing their neighbour to the south. This is a poor outcome, leading to excessive earthworks, drainage problems and reduction in solar access to their own home.
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