Urban Development

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Planning and Deputy Premier. Can the minister tell the house what the government is doing to encourage good design outcomes for infill development?

The SPEAKER: The Speaker is very interested in this answer, given that the minister accompanied him to a development of deplorable design in Woodville Park.

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:47): I thank the honourable member for his question. I also thank you, Mr Speaker, for inviting me and officers of the department to come and speak with you and your constituent. I can indicate that the members for Kaurna and Reynell have also taken the opportunity to take me for a look around and a chat with constituents and local government people. This is a very important issue, and I thank again the honourable member for asking the question.

There has been a significant change in taste in the marketplace in Adelaide and in particular towards infill development, and if you think about it, Mr Speaker, this makes sense. People want to live closer to amenities. They want to live near employment, schools, hospitals and so forth. In fact, in recent years, around $738 million worth of projects and 2,700 new dwellings have been approved or are under construction since the introduction of the first inner metropolitan growth DPA in October 2013.

Both you and the members for Kaurna and Reynell can take some comfort in having brought to the attention of the government that some infill development can give rise to local issues. These issues include things like overshadowing, noise and effects on neighbouring properties. I think the member for Torrens, in particular, has raised parking as an issue. So, there is a whole range of issues which can arise in this context, and the vast majority of these can be dealt with through very good design and through thinking in a respectful way about neighbours and their properties when designs are being considered and also having regard to the streetscape in which these designs are being brought forward.

It is important, I think, Mr Speaker, for you to know that we have listened. In fact, you, as often is the case, were in the vanguard of drawing this matter to our attention and we have listened. As a result, there are a couple of things going on simultaneously. First of all, a great deal of work has been done in respect of design guidelines, and one of the pillars of the new planning system is good design. A great deal of work is going on in that area. That work is continuing and you will be hearing a lot more about that in due course.

But, of course, we are not content, as you wouldn't be content and the members for Reynell and Kaurna certainly aren't content, to wait for that work to be finished because that could take some time. So, in the last few days we have actually introduced on an interim basis, which means effective immediately, a significant raft of changes which overlay the inner metropolitan DPA—in other words, supplement the existing inner metropolitan DPA—and these add significant additional robustness to the questions about design, questions about streetscape, questions about neighbourly interactions and questions about overlooking.

It is really important that as we go along we do get the feedback that we have been getting from members about this because, Mr Speaker, if it wasn't for you and the members for Kaurna, Reynell, Torrens and others who have spoken to me and to members of my department, some of this feedback would not be received, and that is a great service that you are doing for your communities.

The really good news is that not only have these issues been brought forward but there has been a change to the metropolitan DPAs dealing with the inner rim of the city within the City of Adelaide proper, the Corporation of the City of Adelaide, and also in Onkaparinga to deal with these issues as they have come up. I thank members very much for their assistance.