Page 1342 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 June 2020
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concern was the driving factor to call on the government to carry out this independent review. The government ensured that the review was as independent as possible by engaging a Sydney-based consultancy, Arup, to complete the review.
I will now go into outlining Arup’s approach and findings of their review. Arup used the green star communities framework, developed by the Green Building Council of Australia, to examine if the Molonglo Valley’s planning and development is achieving excellence in sustainable design. While this is a well-regarded tool, it is typically used for a development to achieve accreditation at the outset. It is not normally applied retrospectively to areas of this scale that are at different stages of planning and development.
The examination does not differentiate between planning and delivery. Instead, it combines the two, which can mean that something achieved at the beginning of the stage but not yet delivered is considered as having not yet occurred. This is important to note, as a considerable number of matters noted in Arup’s review were planned several years ago but are not yet delivered, and thus identified by Arup’s examination as not yet achieved. An example of this is the planned provision of community facilities in Molonglo Valley.
The green star communities framework assesses planning and development against 33 credits, and these are grouped under four themes: governance, livability, environment and economic prosperity. Only 31 credits have been used in this review. Arup considered that these 31 credits assessed the matters raised in the resolution. For part 2 of the resolution, Arup assessed the Molonglo Valley development and found that nine credits were achieved, 13 were partially achieved and nine were not yet achieved. There were no credits identified as not achieved. As I have mentioned, for the credits rated as not yet achieved, these largely relate to work that is still underway or planned for later stages of Molonglo Valley’s development and, therefore, are likely to be achieved in future years.
Arup also examined the rest of the resolution, which raised a range of specific sustainability matters such as public transport services, housing diversity, canopy trees and cycling infrastructure.
The government also prepared a response to part 1 of the resolution. The government is in a strong position to respond, considering the knowledge of what has been delivered to date, what work is underway and is planned for delivery in the future of the Molonglo Valley. The government’s response to part 1 can be found in the ACT government statement and response to the Legislative Assembly’s resolution that I have tabled today. The government’s examination of these items indicates that more is achieved than Arup’s review. This is largely due to the government considering planning and delivery as separate levels of achievement, which Arup’s work has not done.
I ask that the Assembly note that Arup’s independent review also includes 37 recommendations to inform and improve future development in the ACT. A number of these recommendations are already being considered and incorporated in future planning and development.
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