Page 1683 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 May 2013

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In light of the situation I described and the options that are available to us, I have formed the view that, rather than rejecting the variation, I will move an amendment, and I now move the amendment circulated in my name:

Omit all words after “That this Assembly”, substitute:

“(1) notes:

(a) the tabling of Variation No. 306 to the Territory Plan, Residential development, estate development and leasing codes: Replacement of residential zones objectives, development tables, and housing development codes—Introduction of Residential Zones Development Code and Lease Variation General Code—Replacement of Residential Subdivision Development Code with Estate Development Code;

(b) that Variation 306 includes a range of valuable planning reforms that will improve sustainability in areas such as solar orientation and solar access rights, allowing secondary residences, transport planning and increasing the diversity of dwelling types; and

(c) that, given the volume and complexity of the variation, the ACT Government has committed to make any necessary technical amendments to the revised residential codes to address community and industry feedback from the implementation of the codes, including the possibility of staged commencement; and

(2) calls on the ACT Government to:

(a) invite community feedback on specific clauses of concern that might be addressed through technical variations; and

(b) report to the Assembly on the progress of any technical variations related to Variation 306 by the last sitting day in October 2013.”.

Rather than dismissing the entire variation and abandoning all improvements, I am moving this amendment to reflect the government’s commitment to further refining the ACT’s residential and estate development codes through a technical amendment process and to investigate the best way to stage commencement of the assorted parts of the variation to best incorporate the implementation of these amendments.

I am asking the government to invite further community and industry feedback on specific areas of concern to ensure these are evaluated before proceeding with any technical amendments. I am also asking for a progress report on these technical amendments in October this year, as I imagine that, by then, ACTPLA will have amended some of the simple rules and will have a good idea of which other ones still need revision or to keep a watchful eye on. It is highly likely that amendments will need to be made when further consequences become clear over coming years. I will be following this up with the government to ensure that we learn from the experience of implementing the new codes and adjust the rules to iron out problems in early stages.


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