Page 1474 - Week 05 - Thursday, 1 June 2023
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I note the Transitional Release Centre continues to be underutilised, with currently only eight out of 20 beds being occupied. This continues the trend identified in the healthy prison review, which received submissions from detainees, detailing their frustrations with being unable to be approved for the Transitional Release Program and the underutilisation of the Transitional Release Centre. I am disappointed that more use is not made of this program and centre to help detainees transition back into the community. I call upon a review of the eligibility criteria and security classification reviews that preclude people from being able to utilise this program and centre.
There was no mention of the needle exchange program in the ministerial statement and there remains uncertainty as to whether this is a government policy. I will make sure that issue is not forgotten, as its continued absence remains a risk to the harm of detainees’ health.
In closing, I would like to thank the minister for his riveting update of the correctional system. I am sure Ms Lawder also appreciated it.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Planning Bill 2022
Debate resumed from 21 September 2022, on motion by Mr Gentleman:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
MR CAIN (Ginninderra) (11.17): I rise on behalf of the Canberra Liberals to speak in opposition to the Planning Bill. It is interesting. As I mentioned yesterday in speaking to my motion calling for an adjournment of the debate to allow for an independent inquiry into the planning system and the planning reform, I questioned what the government’s vision was for planning for this great city. I mentioned a few things, which I will mention again today.
What is the vision driving this government’s planning agenda? I have a picture of Canberra that is a bit different to the planning minister’s picture. Canberra is not just a regional city. It is not even just a small jurisdiction in our federal system. Canberra is the capital of this wonderful country. Canberra should reflect what is great about Australia and, indeed, signal how it could be even more wonderful. The vision I see for Canberra is a city, a national capital, a bush capital, with its garden city characteristics preserved—a city that Australians are proud to call their capital and Canberrans are even prouder that they live here.
I do not see any of this messaging coming from the government. Their planning vision—although I am reluctant to call it a planning vision—their planning agenda, is driven by how much money they can get out of land and how quickly they can build. It is like: “Let us build first. We will sell and build and then we will think about the plan.” That is why we are seeing some dictatorial densification happening around us. Barr’s brutal infill is the highlight. That is the big message. They are approving urban heat islands; strangling supply of land for detached housing, which Canberrans are desperately looking for; and driving up the price of such land. Perhaps that is
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video