Page 2138 - Week 07 - Thursday, 20 August 2020
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Clause 25.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (5.51): This is about pre-DA consultation in new suburbs. This clause addresses a problem which has been raised particularly by people in my electorate because there is a lot of new development, new areas, in my electorate. While larger developments in older parts of Canberra have to hold pre-DA application consultation, large developments in several newer suburbs like Wright and Coombs in my electorate, as well as Lawson and Moncrieff on the other side of the lake, are specifically excluded from pre-DA consultation. This can mean that the first time a resident knows about an eight-storey building proposed across the road from their single-storey house is when the directorate’s notice goes in. By that stage, the developers will have already spent a lot of money on the design and will be very reluctant to substantially change their proposal.
My bill will fix this problem by removing the exclusion for larger developments in new suburbs where the development is within 100 metres of a home. This will be a significant positive for my constituents in Wright, Coombs and Denman Prospect. I urge the Liberals to vote for this. Mrs Jones, in particular, has been taking an interest in planning issues in the Molonglo Valley, and this is the sort of thing which is leading to quite a few of the planning issues. I suggest that members may wish to vote for it.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Manager of Government Business, Minister for Advanced Technology and Space Industries, Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for Urban Renewal) (5.53): Madam Speaker, the government recently undertook a review of the pre-DA community consultation guidelines which included reviewing the triggers and exemptions for developments to undertake pre-DA consultation. This change will largely confirm some of the recommendations from this review.
Clause 25 agreed to.
Clause 26.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (5.54): This is about expanding the coverage of the design review panel to cover larger retail developments in common urban zones. This is important because large retail developments are expected in coming years in Lawson, Kippax and Cooleman Court. Unless well designed, these developments will have a substantial impact on existing traders and the local community.
I expect that the minister will say that the panel cannot handle the extra workload. However, I have deliberately designed this clause to apply to only a very small number of developments, possibly less than one per year, so the extra work for the design review panel will be very small and thus manageable.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Manager of Government Business, Minister for Advanced Technology and Space Industries, Minister for the Environment and
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