Page 3410 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 17 September 2019
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undertook a strategic assessment of proposed urban development at Ginninderry, including the Parkwood area (referred to as West Belconnen) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act). The strategic assessment examined impacts from the proposal on matters of national environmental significance and included assessment of planned conservation areas for the protection of biodiversity and maintenance of urban amenity. On 1 September 2017, the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Energy granted approval for urban development and biodiversity conservation at West Belconnen. The program report of the strategic assessment is available at the Department of Environment website.
The ACT Government recognises the significance of our unique natural environment and the importance of protecting the Aboriginal heritage of the land, on which we strive to promote biodiversity rich, resilient landscapes, where well-functioning ecosystems can meet the needs of people and the environment. The ACT Planning Strategy (2018) supports the directions of the NSW South East and Tablelands Regional Plan 2036, which identifies the need for urban planning that is sustainable and resilient, in terms of protecting biodiversity, enhancing habitat connectivity and reducing our vulnerability to natural hazard events.
Biodiversity conservation, Aboriginal heritage and natural hazards are important issues and are being appropriately considered as a part of the Ginninderry development process, reflecting the direction set out in key ACT and NSW Strategic Planning documents.
In October 2018, the ACT Government agreed to the establishment of the Ginninderry Conservation Trust to have responsibility for the environmental and conservation management of the 596 hectares of conservation corridor to be dedicated as part of the cross border urban development (360 ha in the ACT and 236 ha in NSW). Establishing the conservation corridor and the Trust are requirements of the strategic assessment under the EPBC Act approval for the urban development. The cross-border Trust aims to achieve seamless conservation outcomes with the ACT government directly funding conservation activities in the ACT and the NSW portion funded from NSW derived revenue sources.
The Trust is an example of collaboration in planning and conservation to safeguard those natural assets that support Canberra as a city in the landscape - the influence of which will extend across the border into the Parkwood stages of the development. The Ginninderry Conservation Corridor will be progressively put in place as stages of the urban development progress, with the entire corridor in place by 2042-55. The Trust will be Governed by a Board of Directors comprised of government and community representatives, with positions reserved for Indigenous representatives nominated from an existing advisory group, the Ginninderry Aboriginal Advisory Group (GAAG). The group established itself to advise the Trust; provide input to cultural values management in the conservation corridor for the life of the Ginninderry development; advise Indigenous stakeholders and the broader Indigenous community on the progress of GAAG activities; and respond, when appropriate, to project-wide issues raised by the Joint Venture and the wider community. Group members are the eight cultural Knowledge Holders (or their representatives) as nominated by Indigenous community stakeholders during the cultural heritage assessment of the Conservation Corridor.
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