Page 1475 - Week 05 - Thursday, 1 June 2023
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deliberate. It is interesting. If you strangle the supply of a much sought-after product, what happens to the price? There is something called the law of supply and demand that Mr Barr himself does not acknowledge. It is Barr-onomics in full flow: “Let us strangle the supply of something that Canberrans want, but it will not affect the price. That is not me. I am not doing that.” It is a cynical exercise and cynical reasoning.
The planning vision—again, I must stop calling it that—from this government really does not have a vision. It has an agenda driven by profit from land, without considering what Canberrans really want and without considering what this city could represent. It is a shame. Shame on you! And shame on you, planning minister, for being at the forefront of this, even though I suspect you do not really pull the strings.
The Canberra Liberals believe in a planning system that needs to be transparent, is clearly articulated and supports the future vision of a Canberra that Canberrans want to see, and, indeed, Australians want to see. The Labor-Greens government’s proposed planning system does not do this, and that is why we are opposing this bill. Respectful infill should be on the agenda, not brutal infill. We should be planning for the community. We should be planning for people, not planning for profit.
Our leader, Elizabeth Lee, called for a fresh Winton-style survey of Canberrans’ housing and planning preferences. This Labor-Greens government rejected even asking Canberrans what they would like. How offensive is that for this community! These proposed reforms have produced more concern rather than comfort for a city that is already highly suspicious of the Labor-Greens government due to their poor record of consultation and lack of consideration of community desires.
I will quote from Combined Community Councils, as I did yesterday, showing their concern about this planning agenda. They said: “The Planning Bill should not be considered by the Assembly until all the relevant parts of the legislation are available” and all of the relevant parts of the planning reform are in a final form for the community to look at together. We are waiting for a final version of the district strategies. We are waiting for a final version of the Territory Plan. We do not yet have design guides, which apparently are going to explain how things are going to be approved. It is both foolish and arrogant to lock into law a significant plank of this planning reform while significant parts are still open for consultation.
In the listening report released last week, there is a promise for a consultation submission on that listening report, which is yet to be produced and is yet to be before the community for their opinion. Could it be that you are not really interested in their opinion, planning minister? The community council chairs have called the consultation on this a tick box exercise. By bringing this bill forward for debate, you are confirming that very view: this is a tick box exercise of reform of our planning system. We are waiting and waiting for significant other documents to be finalised and presented as a whole package, and yet here you are wanting to lock into law a significant component of this review.
There are so many themes of concern about this. Greens members, on occasion, like to say, “We are an alternative voice in this parliament.” What a moment to demonstrate that. How about the Greens demonstrate that they are a genuine alternative voice that cares about what Canberrans want and listens to the heads of
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