Page 3424 - Week 11 - Thursday, 11 November 2021
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relationships were able to grow and be nurtured. Apart from providing physical shelter, a home provides a sense of constancy in our material and social environments. They are important basic elements needed for individuals and families to be able to secure their wellbeing and lead lives that they value.
There is no one-size-fits-all model for the perfect home. So, as part of its mandate, the Suburban Land Agency is tasked with ensuring that the supply of housing in the ACT meets the varied needs and expectations of all sectors of our community. This means providing for both public and private housing options in new suburbs; offering a mix of property types, ranging from low-density, detached dwellings on land to high-density apartments; meeting affordable community and public housing targets; supporting environmentally sustainable developments that contribute to emissions targets; increasing supply; and following and supporting whole-of-government strategies such as the ACT’s Housing Strategy.
Under the ACT’s Housing Strategy, the government has committed to an equitable, diverse and sustainable supply of housing for the ACT community. Under this goal there are a range of objectives for which this bill will contribute to their achievement. The key objectives of the Housing Strategy include providing land and housing development opportunities to meet demand, setting a 15 per cent target for social and affordable housing, maintaining a healthy land and housing development pipeline, providing a diverse mix of housing types and choice, facilitating innovative design and delivery mechanisms and encouraging well-designed environmentally sustainable and accessible housing.
The opportunities that we must leverage to reach these objectives include the ACT government’s role in supplying new land to the market and enabling large urban renewal projects. Supplying new land in greenfield developments is a key part of the strategy as Canberra continues to grow its economy and population.
Developing new suburbs with strong linkages to the community has been the focus of the Suburban Land Agency. New suburbs are built with key priorities in mind, including access to open space and nature reserves, a network of recreational facilities and close proximity to schools, central services and transport. These are crucial elements to enliven greenfield sites to become vibrant, livable, connected neighbourhoods that draw strongly on the sense of social connection.
However, the ACT’s Housing Strategy notes that the limited availability of land in the ACT and the growth of its population mean that the need for creative planning and design solutions, ensuring a steady supply of land in areas with good linkages to jobs, education, services and community, is essential to delivering housing options that meet the expectations of people in the ACT. The vast majority of future growth will be within our existing urban footprint, through a range of future developments. This follows the commitment in the parliamentary and governing agreement that at least 70 per cent of new housing development be within Canberra’s existing urban footprint.
However, it is critical to futureproof greenfield development sites by ensuring that the ACT government has the option to extend such developments beyond the ACT borders. While, at this time, the ACT government has not forecast any additional
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