Page 2225 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 1 August 2017
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interpreted to mean that Canberrans would be happy to have the no-billboard rules relaxed or abandoned.
Concerns raised by constituents on relaxing the no-billboards policy are varied and come from a diverse cross-section of our community—concerns about subject content and location, concerns about them being introduced purely as another source of revenue, concerns about whether the light rail corridor will be turned into prime billboard real estate, concerns that the large, expensive and impressive “Welcome to Canberra” signs may be turned into an opportunity for adjacent or even replacement commercial messaging, concerns about the impact on small businesses who most likely will not be able to afford to advertise on billboards, concerns about international companies taking advertising revenue from local radio stations, local print media like the Canberra Times, CityNews and the Canberra Weekly, and local websites like the RiotACT and HerCanberra, and concerns that billboards will be exploited by organisations with deep pockets at election time to promote misleading messages like the Mediscare campaign. These are important policy questions that must be considered in any change to the current rules.
I have great confidence that the Assembly’s planning committee will diligently and faithfully carry out its duties in undertaking this inquiry, and these issues may already have been considered or are being considered. Mr Hussey-Smith is well aware of the work currently being undertaken by the committee, having made a submission. Even in the throes of a current inquiry, with a record number of submissions, the fact that this petition has garnered almost 800 signatures speaks volumes for how strongly many Canberrans feel about the proposed changes to the current rules.
The petition states, inter alia:
Cities around the world - from Paris and Sao Paulo to New York and Chennai - have moved to ban or significantly reduce the number of billboards in their cities, an acknowledgement of the negative effects that billboards have on the urban landscape.
…
The benefits of advertising billboards are concentrated amongst the few … while the costs are carried by all.
We all know and love the unique beauty of Canberra and its place in Australia as our nation’s capital. Some of my constituents have expressed the view that our no-billboards policy should be seen not as a reflection of our city not being big or sophisticated enough but as a reflection of our city’s commitment to preserving our bush capital culture.
I look forward to the Assembly’s planning and urban renewal committee report on this inquiry by the last sitting date in October, and I thank the 779 petitioners, the much smaller number of brave Canberrans who got their kit off on Black Mountain, and of course Mr Hussey-Smith for his dedication in ensuring that the voices of many Canberrans on this important community issue are heard by the Assembly.
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