Page 4719 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE -
STANDING COMMITTEE
Report on Inquiry into Possible Changes to Planning Legislation
Debate resumed.
MR CORNWELL (4.31): Madam Speaker, I join with Mr Berry, the chairman of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee, in commending this report to the Assembly and, indeed, to the general public. Now that it has been tabled it will be available for people to examine.
Mr Berry said that there was some hysteria out there in the community in relation to planning and planning legislation. I would not call it hysteria; I would call it desperation. It was very obvious that there were a great many unhappy people in the ACT who were suffering from what they perceived to be mistakes in the planning process. The genesis for this inquiry had been in the PDI Committee for many months, but it was not until June this year, Madam Speaker, probably as a result of the rising tide of objections - I cannot remember the exact details at the moment, but I suspect that it was due to the rising tide of objections from the community - that this planning legislation reference was resurrected and brought forward. Even that reference was overtaken subsequently by events, because more pressing demands made it necessary for Mr Lansdown to come forward and conduct his own more immediate inquiry. As a result of that, some of the 73 submissions that we received were transferred to Mr Lansdown for his consideration as well, with the approval of the people who put forward the submissions. Some of them went straight to Mr Lansdown; others, the contents of which applied to our own inquiry, remained with us.
I believe that the report is overdue. In justification of that comment, I would refer to recommendations 20 and 21, which highlight an absolutely appalling situation that was brought forward originally by the Todd inquiry in relation to guidelines and the "circumstances in which persons are not entitled to apply for the review of decisions". We have made some recommendations on this. I think it is, however, an indictment that the matter has not been taken up before by this Government because the situation that applies at the moment is manifestly unjust.
I must also say, and I am sure that I am joined by other committee members, that we were somewhat shocked to hear a senior officer state at the hearing that the Banks dual occupancy fiasco was, in fact, "a disaster". One would hope that speedy action would be taken to correct that. To be fair to the Minister, Mr Wood, I think action has been taken in that respect. Those two examples highlight the need for this report, and, more to the point, action by the Government upon this report. I believe that there are some advantages in tabling it at this point because, although it cannot be debated at length, it now is a public document and we will have the benefit of community comment on it over the next few months, certainly before the next Assembly comes into being. I would hope, however, Madam Speaker, that that does not impede the Government in taking action as recommended in this report in numerous areas. Other areas, unfortunately, will have to wait for the new Assembly, because we have suggested that other committees of the Assembly might continue with further investigations.
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