Page 4232 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 21 September 2010
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engage children and young people through a partnership between ACTPLA’s education officer and the community engagement consultants. ACTPLA’s sustainable futures program recently included a competition for students from years 5 to 12.
The competition attracted over 45 entries, including full-scale models, poems, essays, songs and websites. The students were asked to provide a vision for Canberra 2030. Topics included how land is used efficiently for housing, green space, commercial and industrial uses. It includes the sustainable use of resources, and it includes what suburbs should look like and how people might better travel around our city. The entries are currently being exhibited in ACTPLA’s customer service centre in Dickson, with the winners due to be announced in coming weeks.
In new greenfield areas such as Molonglo and Gungahlin, the ACT government is committed to achieving excellence in sustainable development outcomes. As such, ACTPLA will incorporate child-friendly planning principles into the development of Wright, Coombs and Molonglo stage 2. This will be done through a commitment to best practice standards for future development in the Molonglo valley. Changes to the territory plan have ensured that the concept plans for Coombs and Wright adhere to the principles of a child-friendly city promoted by UNICEF. These principles are outlined in the ACT children’s plan 2010-14 and will set the standard for future concept plans for Molonglo.
Estate development plans, which are development applications for the detailed subdivisions of suburbs, will be required to be assessed against these concept plans. ACTPLA also participates in an interagency committee that will consider ways of incorporating child-friendly cities principles into government policy and decision making. ACTPLA will also audit the ACT government’s performance against the UNICEF building blocks for developing a child-friendly city.
The government recognises the need to actively engage with children and young people throughout the planning process. In doing so, it continues a long local tradition of innovative social planning, and gives substance to its broader commitment to social inclusion. Children and young people, indeed, have interests, needs and wishes distinct from those of other groups within the Canberra community. Hearing and understanding these views can require different approaches to those used with adults. However, the extra efforts are clearly crucial to the effective planning of a socially sustainable Australian Capital Territory, so I thank Ms Le Couteur for bringing on this matter of great public importance this afternoon. It has allowed me to speak to the real and practical commitment this government has to child-friendly planning.
MR SPEAKER: The discussion on the matter of public importance is concluded.
Adjournment
Motion (by Mr Barr) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
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