Page 4053 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 17 November 2015

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We have also been able to successfully harness social media to receive responses from numerous constituents across the ACT. These responses provided by members of the community allow us to address their concerns and update our proposals based on the community’s feedback. We have received steady support for the statement with consistent messages on the importance of urban renewal and place making, prioritisation of the planning framework, pursuit of innovation and, more simply, just to get on with the job of delivering outcomes-based planning options.

We also carried out extensive consultation with several community councils regarding what developments the local community would like to see in the future. Some of the councils who participated in the statement of planning intent workshops were, of course, the community councils around the city, including the Belconnen Community Council, the Gungahlin Community Council and the Tuggeranong Community Council.

I make particular mention of the young planners session we had. It was aimed at engaging them in quick rounds to extract their ideas, their vision and how to make where they live better. These young people are the future of our city, and the decisions we make today are the ones that they will have to live with. We must engage with them in a way they want to be engaged and we must continue not only to hear their ideas but to put them into action. That is what the statement of planning intent has delivered, and only because we engaged in such a diverse range of groups and views.

Leading up to the current proposed town centre master plans we always survey our local constituents. We discuss the relevant proposals and vision for these town centres to gather local intelligence and feedback to our initial plans. Discussions, of course, also involved vast consultation with community councils regarding the master plans for Belconnen, Curtin and Kippax, to name a few.

Prior to the release of the light rail network plan in recent weeks extensive consultation was carried out across all Canberra on the light rail network as it will be built as leading infrastructure. In addition to discussions with these local community councils, we also contacted a wide range of constituents. These included academics and researchers, government agencies, other community groups, both the young and the elderly, and business groups. Some of the groups contacted included the Housing Industry Association ACT, the Heritage Council ACT, ActewAGL and several CSIRO organisations. We continue to engage through our consultations in the community and online, closing on 11 December this year, for that process.

Perhaps the work of the Tuggeranong Community Council is what I am most familiar with, and I was pleased to hear Ms Lawder’s comments on the council earlier. I mention their engagement, in particular their work on the Tuggeranong waterway program including detailed, continuing studies with Waterwatch, their work on the activation of Anketell Street and Tuggeranong town park, their efforts with footsteps to follow, their support for the Tuggeranong CIT and the walk-in centre and, of course, their great support for Southquay as well.


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