Page 4144 - Week 13 - Thursday, 14 December 2006

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• codes that contain the detailed planning rules that apply to the development; and

• development tables for each zone that identify the minimum assessment track that applies to any given development.

Restructuring the territory plan will not result in changes to the broad land use designations of the existing plan. This means that residential land use policy areas will remain residential zones and industrial land use policy areas will remain industrial zones.

The territory plan codes will regulate code track and merit track assessable development applications. Requirements for code track assessable development will be prescriptive, while there will be greater flexibility for merit development applications.

Consultation on the revised territory plan has already commenced with key community and industry stakeholders being involved in the development of the code content. Further refinements to the detail are currently being made. A full revised territory plan will be available for public consultation in the first part of 2007.

There are ongoing discussions with the National Capital Authority to ensure that the territory plan meets the requirement of the Commonwealth Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988.

Mr Speaker, I now turn to the issue of planning strategy. Given the length of the bill, I seek an extension of time. (Extension of time granted.) I thank members for that indulgence. This is a large reform package, and it is important to put all the elements of it on the record in its introduction.

The bill provides for the executive to prepare a high level, long-term planning strategy for the ACT, aimed at promoting orderly and sustainable development. The planning strategy will be the equivalent of the Canberra spatial plan and will allow for the setting of longer term strategic directions than what is currently provided by my statement of planning intent. It is not part of the territory plan, but the planning strategy does have the function of informing the development of any proposed variations to the strategic directions of the territory plan, subject to any variation also meeting the requirements of the Commonwealth Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988. The strategy cannot be used in development assessment or tribunal processes.

Let me turn to the issue of sustainability. The achievement of sustainable development is one of the key underlying principles of the planning system reform process and is addressed at both the strategic and detailed planning stages.

At the broadest level, the object of the planning strategy is to promote the orderly and sustainable development of the ACT. It follows that sustainability is also an integral part of the territory plan, reflected through the proposed statement of strategic directions and, at the more detailed level, embodied in appropriate controls in codes. All detailed proposals, including estate development plans, will be assessed in this


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