Page 1114 - Week 06 - Thursday, 27 July 1989
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SUSPENSION OF STANDING AND TEMPORARY ORDERS
Motion (by Mr Whalan) agreed to:
That so much of the standing and temporary orders be suspended as would allow notice No. 1, private members business, to be called on forthwith.
PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE - STANDING COMMITTEE
MRS NOLAN (4.59): I thank the house for allowing this to come on this afternoon. I move:
That the following matter be referred to the Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Infrastructure for inquiry and report -
(1) whether changes should occur in relation to the current policy concerning fences on suburban/residential building blocks including -
(a) whether restrictions on front and side boundary fences should be eased; and
(b) whether restrictions on the material from which such fences are made should be eased; and
(2) the committee to report by the first day of sitting in April 1990.
At the outset I would like to talk a little about the history in relation to this issue, which obviously has been around for a long time.
The policy that our city's planning authorities have consistently adhered to over the years which prohibits the existence of front fences has been one that has set Canberra apart from other cities in Australia. The no front fence policy has remained consistent since our city's very beginning. The reason why this has been the attitude of Canberra's planners is that fences are not conducive to a garden city environment, and a garden city environment is the theme for Canberra that the architect Walter Burley Griffin envisaged for its future. However, the no front fence policy is now coming under question more so than ever. Certain issues have developed for home owners in Canberra and it is these issues that I believe justify a review of current front fence policy. Mr Speaker, this is the reason why I have moved for the front fence policy to be referred to the Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Infrastructure. The large amount of public debate on the issue related to and concerning front fences warrants, I believe, a review of that policy.
As those in the Assembly already know, during the election campaign the Liberal Party undertook a doorknocking campaign, and during my many hours spent in the Tuggeranong Valley many residents raised the issue with me. It was
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