Page 1075 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 May 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MR MILLIGAN: Minister, to what extent did the overcapacity and understaffing of the adult mental health unit contribute to this man being able to escape?
MR RATTENBURY: I do not believe the coroner made any findings along those lines, but I will once again check the coroner’s report and if I have anything further to add to my answer I will provide it to Mr Milligan on notice.
MRS JONES: Minister, why didn’t the ACT seek the extradition of this man, given that he was facing charges in the ACT and had escaped from lawful custody in the ACT?
MR RATTENBURY: That is not a matter for ACT Corrective Services.
Planning—development applications
MR PARTON: My question is to the Minister for Planning and Land Management. We have received positive feedback from industry on your efforts to stimulate the construction industry through accelerated processing of development applications primarily for smaller developments that are simpler to access. We are told that approval of larger and more complex developments within the impact track category have not been sped up despite these being a driver for larger numbers of jobs and economic activity which will be crucial to post-COVID recovery. Minister, what will you do to expedite approval of development applications outstanding within the merit and impact track categories?
MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Mr Parton for his question. It is an important question. Of course, this government has invested in extra support staff to ensure that we can provide speedy decision-making for the independent authority. I can advise that as of 8 May, 166 active DAs are in the process. That is the lowest number since 2016. It is the lowest number because of the investment that we have made in the directorate.
Some 43 applications were received that week, including amendments and endorsements and 53 applications were determined that week. So you could see the graph that there are more applications being decided now than are actually being received by the directorate, which is a very good sign.
I would say, too, that the DA numbers that we are receiving are still consistent with pre-COVID numbers. Some 40 to 50 DAs are lodged each week. Six additional assessors were funded in the 2019-20 budget and 10 staff members relocated from elsewhere in EPSDD.
The change team structure allows faster processing, particularly in the residential sector. But there are bigger development applications that take time to fully decide and we need to make sure that we have all of the information available so that our planners can make the right decisions.
MR PARTON: How many of those DAs that you mentioned, minister—the ones that are still on the books now—are impact track?
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video