Page 1533 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 May 2017
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There is a lot of consternation about this. This has caused significant debate within the Assembly and significant debate within the community. As I noted when I spoke on the petitions, there are a lot of people in the community who are very concerned about what is happening to their community zoned land. I note also that community councils, Weston Creek and Woden, are equally concerned about what is happening with community zoned land. And as this program is rolled out further, as has been indicated to us in the FOI documents, I have no doubt that more residents across Canberra and more community councils will become engaged in this debate and be concerned about what is happening on our community zoned land.
Ms Lawder and others have outlined genuine concerns. Ms Le Couteur has just tabled a bill about the issue, about technical amendments. It is very clear that the government has been sneaky in amending the Territory Plan to now allow basically anything to be built on community zoned land. I do not think there is anybody other than the Labor Party, who are desperate to ram this through now, who does not acknowledge that there was a flawed technical amendment process—Ms Le Couteur acknowledges that—and that community zoned land needs to be considered very carefully before we see, not just in these sites but all across Canberra, big residential blocks being built on community land.
I have circulated an amendment to Mr Gentleman’s amendment to Ms Lawder’s motion. It does not change what Mr Gentleman said. It does not delete anything. All I have suggested, what I am calling for and what I think is reasonable, is that it calls on the Assembly:
… to refer the use of CFZ land to the Planning and Urban Renewal Committee for inquiry and report back to the Assembly prior to any development application being approved … by the ACT Government.
There is a furore going on in this place and in the community. Let us press pause and have a look at this as Assembly members. I hear from those opposite in the Greens and in the Labor Party that we need to make better use of committees, that that is the venue where we should look at issues like this, that we should have a considered look, allow people to put in submissions and allow for public hearings so that the community can have its say. This committee, as I understand, has a Green member, two Liberal members and two Labor members, so it is not stacked in the Liberals’ favour. It can go to the committee. I am not saying that this should drag out for a couple of years; the committee can determine how long this would take. What we say is, “Let’s not sign off on any of this until we as members, the leaders of our community, acknowledge the significant concern that is in our community and say, ‘Let’s do this in committee. Let’s look at it. Let’s make a decision about what is going to happen.’” This is not just about these five sites; this is about the entire use of CFZ land.
I have heard Ms Le Couteur raise concerns about this. I have heard others raise concerns about this. I have heard the community raise concerns about this. I have heard numerous times in this place, as we all have, that the place to look at these sorts
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