Page 603 - Week 02 - Thursday, 20 February 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
motion today in relation to the land located east of Antill Street in north Watson that, as Minister Rattenbury has said, contains significant yellow box woodland conservation values. It is a great pleasure to talk about this important environmental asset in my electorate of Kurrajong, which is also the electorate of Minister Rattenbury and Ms Lee, the shadow minister for environmental matters.
Canberra nature parks around urban Canberra host valuable environments, ranging from forested hills to some of the best examples of lowland native grassland and critically endangered yellow box red gum grassy woodland in Australia. The ACT parks and conservation service manages Canberra nature parks to protect these grasslands and woodlands and the rich ecosystems that support rare and threatened species such as superb parrots and grassland earless dragons. When I saw a photo of one the other day I thought, “That is very cute.” I agree with Minister Rattenbury on that.
Our parks also form important wildlife corridors and support the movement of wildlife through the urban area. The proximity of these parks to urban areas of Canberra means we have an extraordinary opportunity for recreation and wildlife experiences. They really define what it is to be the bush capital. Many are within walking distance of our residential areas, allowing Canberrans to explore the valuable grasslands and woodlands and some of our iconic mountains for views across the city and surrounding landscape, including, of course, Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie. It is this proximity to nature that provides Canberra with its unique landscape character and its sense of place.
There are a couple of issues in relation to Minister Rattenbury’s motion that I want to touch on and clarify. The motion does mention that the land in question is currently zoned CZ6, leisure and accommodation zoning, which is accurate, but the motion indicates that this allows for dense residential development. I just want to clarify in relation to that. Minister Rattenbury said that, of the commercial CZ6 blocks mentioned in the motion, block 1 section 84 Watson, which is leased to the ACT government, is used by the Ted Noffs Foundation as an outreach facility. This is a very important facility for the young people of Canberra, and we are committed to maintaining that facility. All other parcels of land identified in the motion are, indeed, unleased land and are managed by the ACT parks and conservation service.
It is, however, the case that residential development is not permitted in the CZ6 zone, except where it is enabled through a precinct area overlay. The Watson precinct code does not permit residential development as an additional use on the blocks that are identified in this motion. This is in contrast to the majority of the CZ6 land located on the other side of Antill Street that is permitted to have a residential use. With the current unleased land status and the management of this land by the ACT parks and conservation service, I can say with confidence that the unleased blocks identified will not be used for the range of leisure and accommodation uses that are permitted in the CZ6 zone.
I think the level of density that you might expect to be your maximum in that kind of zone is indicated by something like the Parklands Central Hotel in section 72 Dickson. That is probably the densest type of development and the type of leisure and
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video