Page 4370 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 25 October 2017
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There is a rich diversity of landscapes within the urban forest which contributes to the quality of life all Canberrans and experienced visitors to the nation’s capital see. From the beautiful vistas of eucalypts on the surrounding hills and distant mountains to the stunning colours of autumn in our suburbs and the habitat our native trees and shrubs provide for so many of our Australian native birds and animals, our landscape setting is highly valued for its visual amenity and many environmental, social, cultural and economic benefits.
The planning of a city within a treed landscape is a strong principle on which Canberra’s planning legacy is founded. Walter Burley Griffin was strongly influenced by the city beautiful and garden city movements which influenced town planning during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Madam Speaker, we spoke of this on a visit to Blandfordia on the weekend, looking at our treed city in that area, with the National Trust. Together with the attributes of the garden city movement, particularly the planning for communities where people work or live surrounded by green belts, and the city beautiful movement promoting wide boulevards, elegant parks, recreational waterways and river banks, it is easy to see how the city envisaged by Griffin in his 1912 plan has carried through to today.
Maintaining and managing the green infrastructure, particularly the treed landscape, is, as Ms Le Couteur’s motion notes, highly important as we move towards increasing densification and renewal in the city. The ACT government has already taken significant steps to plan and prepare for this challenge. This includes developing the climate change adaption strategy and the living infrastructure plan and urban tree renewal plans. These work with the broader planning for the territory and the city, and we are in the early stages of commencing a review of the ACT planning strategy and Territory Plan and associated urban design standards and guidelines. Specifically, the climate change adaption strategy includes resilience indicators to provide targets for shade from trees in residential areas.
In a changing climate we must look after our trees as they look after us and our environment. In part, this has been delivered through the climate change adaption strategy through the development of the living infrastructure plan. By the end of 2018 this will include targets for urban tree canopy cover. With more than 750,000 government-managed trees in urban areas, this living infrastructure is extremely valuable and we do not want to lose one of our greatest assets. The urban forest is captured in the ACT greenhouse gas inventory, and any substantial growth or loss to the forest impacts on our greenhouse gas emissions. By growing our living infrastructure, we will see a net benefit of carbon sequestration.
Living infrastructure, which includes trees, open green spaces, waterways and even plants placed on the sides and tops of buildings, can provide an enormous benefit. They help moderate temperate extremes, including the heat island effect, and extreme weather events. They provide shelter, improve value and amenity, and it has even been demonstrated that they are a positive contributor to improved mental health. These benefits contribute a much broader value to our community. The ACT government recognises the need to grow and maintain our urban forest and
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