Page 2904 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 June 2010
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Environment—green buildings
MR HARGREAVES: My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water. Can the minister advise the Assembly of how Canberra businesses are responding to the ACT government’s agenda to be a carbon neutral city by 2060?
MR CORBELL: I thank Mr Hargreaves for the question. Just today, I was informed of a new development, and had the opportunity to receive a briefing on it, by the Rock Development Group, which is a well-known Canberra business that is taking a leading role in deploying renewable energy technologies and applying a truly triple-bottom-line assessment to its new development at the Belconnen fruit market site. This is a $130 million proposal.
Mr Hargreaves: How much?
MR CORBELL: $130 million, which will see the first six-star green-star communities project in Australia using the Green Building Council of Australia’s new green-star communities rating tool. The proposal is to deploy geothermal technology for the heating of buildings, including a number of large residential apartment buildings on the site. It proposes just next month to deploy a 30-kilowatt PV installation and it proposes to use waste water recycling systems for both rainwater and black water on the site.
This is a leadership project for the city. Obviously, it needs to go through all of the appropriate planning processes, but the fact that we have a developer that is prepared to put their hand up and say, “We want to help in contributing towards the development of carbon neutrality for our city,” is something that I would hope all members in this place endorse. We need to see more leadership like this from people in the development industry. We need to see developers prepared to put in place these types of technology, where we see the deployment of renewable technologies at scale, where we see genuine recycling of water, the capture and reuse of water, where we see the deployment of photovoltaic technologies, where we see the smart design in a mixed development precinct that we are looking for in this city.
We talk a lot about it in this place, but here we have a developer who is saying they are prepared to do it, and they are well advanced in their planning and in their proposals. I am very pleased to see developments such as this proceeding in Canberra.
Of course, another aspect that is well worth highlighting is that this proposal will be the first proposal, the first private development in this city, to have electric vehicle recharging points. They are negotiating with Better Place to be the first private development to have the recharging points for electric vehicles, and that is another very positive development, one that I think all members in this place should welcome.
MR SPEAKER: Do you have a supplementary question, Mr Hargreaves?
MR HARGREAVES: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Hearing, as I did, Minister, about that issue about electric vehicle charge points, what progress is being made to make Canberra electric vehicle ready, other than that particular development?
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