2020-06-16
The ACT Greens are calling on the ACT Government to increase accountability in Canberra’s planning system, introducing a raft of new measures for debate in the Assembly this week.
These measures call on the ACT Government to:
- Make sure that more of the community gets to have their say on developments, especially when developers make major changes after community consultation ends
- Give all Canberrans, no matter where they live, a right to have their say about major developments in their suburbs. Currently developments in newer suburbs like Wright, Coombs, Denman Prospect, Lawson and Moncrieff are exempt from pre-DA consultations, meaning locals get less of a say
- Establish more rights for the community to appeal planning decisions where ‘registered trees’, like the one at Manuka shops, are going to be knocked down
- Give the Assembly a say on key decisions such as approving deconcessionalisations and giving interim effect of Territory Plan Variations
- Provide longer community consultation periods for DAs over the Christmas holiday break
- Ensure more rights to appeal where environmental impact assessments have been exempted for new developments.
Comments attributable to Caroline Le Couteur MLA:
“We know the decisions we make today determine the kind of Canberra our children, and their children, inherit - in what we know will be a hotter, drier and more extreme climate.
“We need to put accountability and community voices back into Canberra’s planning system. For too long, community voices have not been considered as they should be. The Government simply doesn’t take community contributions about the kind of Canberra we need, seriously. The community, and local residents groups, have been calling for more accountability, for far too long.
“As part of a post COVID recovery, now is the time for us to build a better normal.
“I’d encourage the other parties to demonstrate their commitment to the voices of our community by backing these amendments, when they go before the Assembly this week."
Comments attributable to Rebecca Vassarotti:
“We need it to respond to community concerns around quality and to ensure that community input is a meaningful part of the planning process.
“We know the community’s confidence that the planning system is working for them is not high. This is an opportunity to rebuild confidence and get better outcomes through involving the community.”