Page 3705 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2013

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We do want to see more people living in the city centre. The plan looks to accommodate 10 per cent of the territory’s population growth to 2030 in the city centre. We also want to look at the impact of vehicle traffic and prioritising public transport options in the city centre, as many other capital cities are already doing or have already done.

A change in growth will be delivered across each city centre’s identified character areas in different ways, but it will build on the existing strengths of each of those areas. So City Hill and West Basin will see the greatest level of change in growth. They are vital in making east-west and city-lake connections. The plan will also look at ways to connect the city centre with the foreshore, as we have talked about in this place before, including the work that is required around the lowering of Parkes Way and the new boardwalk as part of the city to the lake proposal.

MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Coe.

MR COE: Chief Minister, will the city plan be entrenched in a legislative instrument such as the territory plan?

MS GALLAGHER: It will certainly be used as the overarching strategic framework for planning decisions that are taken around the city centre, the area identified in the city plan, once that plan has been finalised.

MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Ms Porter.

MS PORTER: Chief Minister, how can the community have their say on the draft city plan?

MS GALLAGHER: I thank Ms Porter for the question. We are encouraging people to have a say on the draft plan. We have had so far 15,000 people who have accessed information one way or another, whether it be at the community engagement tent in the city or through the website.

These are often difficult exercises in engagement. Not a lot of people, outside of professional industry associations, like to get too involved in this level of detail. But these are changes that will potentially affect the look of the city, or will definitely affect the look of the city. We are asking people to get involved and think about these issues before decisions are finalised.

There are various ways of getting involved. People can get involved on the website, through time to talk or the city plan website. There is an open house marquee in Garema Place and a display in the Canberra Centre from next Monday to Saturday. So there are various ways that people can get involved. I hope they do. So far the feedback we have had in the early stages is that people want to see some of the changes outlined in the early documents happen and happen as soon as we can make them happen.


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