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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 2 Hansard (28 February) . . Page.. 370 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

It stated at the time:

The Liberal Party broadly welcomes the recommendations of the Lansdown Report and the decision by the Government to scrap the unpopular and unworkable 50/50 urban renewal policy, Liberal planning spokesman, Greg Cornwell, said today.

It went on:

"Mr Lansdown has presented sensible improvements to planning guidelines which will be welcomed by the many ACT residents concerned about the future of their neighbourhood. The recommendations also should be welcomed by developers, because although they tighten existing guidelines they also clarify the rules, thus making certainty in the planning process for developer and resident alike."

Mr Speaker, it is something that you and I have agreed on since we first met at meetings with the NCDC as early as 1985 or 1986. The press release went on:

Mr Cornwell said that he noted the Government had gone further than Lansdown in its decision to abandon the 50/50 policy and to increase the dual occupancy block size to a minimum 800 square metres.

"The Government's action simply confirms what the Liberals have been saying for months: the policy was not working!"

The Liberal Party did not support 100 per cent betterment on unit titled developments nor the decision to abolish strata titling.

I think it is particularly important that you made that comment at the time. It continues:

"We believe there are sufficient controls in place without adding those."

Mr Speaker, anybody who has commented on the Lansdown report or dual occupancy from that time onwards has recognised that it is this subdivision, or unit title, that has encouraged the development of dual occupancy through, as was said at the time, greed rather than need.

The proposal I put today in this legislation means that people will still be able to subdivide their blocks when they are doing a development of four units or more. The reason for that is that it is not the intention, as far as this legislation is concerned, to try to stop redevelopment in Canberra. Indeed, when redevelopment is carried out appropriately, when it is carried out meeting proper guidelines, it is often welcomed by people throughout Canberra as enhancing their neighbourhoods rather than demeaning them. However, one of the problems with dual occupancy is that it has had no strategic control.

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