Page 1947 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 23 June 2021
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lives. We have seen some key issues around building quality, and a significant amount of work has occurred in terms of improving the regulatory system. But we do know that there is more work to be done, so we would see property developer licensing as a key element of this.
We need to understand what it means when we talk about a property developer, which is why the issue of definition is really important. We need to understand how we can do appropriate accountability, particularly when we see some of the complex corporate structures that sit behind some of these arrangements. We also need a mechanism to deal with things when things go wrong. Some of the work that has already occurred, particularly around security of payment systems, has been a really good step forward; we get very strong feedback that these are working well. But there is still some work in terms of ensuring that that accountability is there, and that consumers know who they dealing with when they are entering into these contracts.
MS ORR: Minister, when you say accountability measures what are you focusing on, and how will the scheme provide accountability regarding developers?
MS VASSAROTTI: One of the issues with coming into a project that is quite complex is that we need to do that initial analysis and policy development. Some of the questions that Ms Orr has raised are exactly the sorts of questions that we are looking at right now. What does it mean in terms of accountability? It is in terms of visibility, in terms of people understanding who is involved in these projects. It is around understanding what the terms of that are. It is also around what happens when things go wrong—what some of the issues are, and that there are consequences when things go wrong, in terms of property developers. So concepts such as: are there fit and proper person tests and if something has gone wrong and people have not done what they should have done, what consequences should be considered in terms of people taking that kind of activity and moving forward? These are all questions that we are engaging with stakeholders on. They are the key questions that we think are important relate to accountability issues.
Planning—entertainment precincts
MS CLAY: My question is to the Minister for Planning and Land Management. Minister, it has been 11 years since the planning committee made recommendations about entertainment precincts and other ways to support the live music scene. There have been many reports since, including the Entertainment Action Plan 2019. In August 2020, you told the Assembly that formal engagement and consultation on entertainment areas had been postponed due to the pandemic. While I appreciate that the pandemic is still going on, much of Canberra is opening back up. Can you please update the Assembly on where consultation is up to on the 2019 Entertainment Action Plan?
MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Ms Clay for the question. It is important as we go forward with the action plan to seek to ensure that we get consultation across the ACT community. We are doing that with the consultation on the planning review. The action plan which I released in October 2019 sets out a vision for a dynamic Canberra that offers a diversity of entertainment and night-time activities. As I have mentioned,
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