Page 396 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 February 2020
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benefits to unit owners, occupiers and developers through improving management and governance arrangements and providing for greater disclosure of information, and it recognises the needs of these developments into the future.
I thank Minister Gentleman for bringing forward this bill, which brings the needs of unit developments within the community to the fore. From the discussion earlier in the chamber, with the comments from Mr Parton and Ms Le Couteur, it is clear that there have been considerable discussions and good collaborative work between all parties in this chamber. I would like to put on the record my thanks for the collective willingness to work together to achieve the best outcomes for all involved in a unit development.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Advanced Technology and Space Industries, Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11.36): We are progressing significant reform of the ACT unit planning legislation through our managing better building reforms. With this, I express my full support for the Unit Titles Legislation Amendment Bill 2019.
Today I am pleased to outline some of the amendments proposed under this bill. I thank Tara Cheyne for her statement in support. I would now like to provide further details about some of the very important changes the bill will introduce. But, before I begin, I wish to advise that I intend to move some government amendments to the bill on the basis that these amendments are minor and technical in nature. I also want to thank Ms Le Couteur and Mr Parton for their considered amendments to this bill. It is, as we have heard, pleasing to see all of us taking such an active interest in something that is affecting more and more Canberrans. I thank them for their cooperative approach to the legislation. I also want to thank Ms Louise Crossman from my office for her considered approach to working with their offices in this collaborative way.
Discussions, stakeholder consultation and comparisons with other jurisdictions have confirmed that there are opportunities to improve and modernise the territory’s laws relating to unit plan developments. Our current laws were designed for a time when unit plan complexes were exclusively or predominantly for residential purposes. However, with more people choosing to live and work in mixed-use properties, it is important that we update the laws as our city continues to grow.
We are taking a staged approach to the unit plan reforms. This bill represents significant work in developing the reforms for stage 1. Stage 1 is focused on relatively less complex reforms to help with the management and governance of unit plans, such as separate budgets for commercial and residential areas, improvements to decision-making processes for owner corporations, and creating easier and more consistent administrative procedures for owners corporations. Stage 2 is anticipated to involve the detailed review of issues such as the development and design requirements, as well as a further look at governance arrangements for multiple unit plans in the one development complex.
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