State Planning Commission

Mr BATTY (Bragg) (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Is the minister aware of comments of the State Planning Commissioner at the Environment, Resources and Development Committee and, if so, does he agree with those comments? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr BATTY: On 28 August, the chair of the State Planning Commission told the Environment, Resources and Development Committee: 'Height is no issue, so you could build 30 storeys in Glenside and not upset anybody.'

The SPEAKER: Before the minister speaks, I do observe that that is the way to deal with standing order 97. Well done, member for Bragg.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION (Taylor—Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Planning) (14:57): I wasn't aware of the comments by the chair of the State Planning Commission, but he is a very good chair of the State Planning Commission and is endeavouring through a whole range of mechanisms—the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan and a whole range of work—and the State Planning Commission has probably never been so busy because what we are endeavouring to do is to resolve a housing crisis in this state at the same time as having thoughtful, well-done community planning.

That is why we have done the expert panel. That is why we have the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan and that is why there is a great deal of discussion out there in the community. Of course, the chair of the State Planning Commission is part of the ongoing discussion, so there will be a lot of commentary. What I am not going to do is give a running commentary on everything everybody says.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: But what I would say is those opposite left us with a housing crisis with a zero per cent rental vacancy rate in the regions—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: A zero regional vacancy rate in the regions, a zero policy response, a 0.3, a 0.4 per cent—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please be seated. There are interjections to my left and right. I see the member for Morialta and I anticipate standing order 98.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Standing order 98 requires the minister to respond to the question, which was about 30-storey buildings in Glenside.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I will listen carefully. I have standing order 98. The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: Well, Speaker, you can't talk about one area and one bit of density—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —without talking about the whole city. You can't do that. You can't say, 'I don't want density here, but I want affordable housing somewhere else.' You can't do that. We were left—and it's an important thing to say—a 0.3 to 0.5 per cent rental vacancy rate in the suburbs and a 1.2 per cent vacancy rate in the city. To resolve the housing crisis, we are going to have to have density somewhere in the CBD—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —and that's one of the reasons the government has been out there doing projects like—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —the Franklin Street bus station, doing projects like the West End Brewery.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister, please be seated. There are a number of—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: —order!—interjections to my left. The minister needs to be heard.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: Thank you for your protection, Speaker. Those opposite want to run around the place, running all sorts of nimby-style campaigns across the city, and we know they say no to a women's and children's hospital, they say no to economic investment in terms of the universities—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —they say no to housing. That's what they say: 'No, no, no, no, no.'

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Newland!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: That's why we've got a housing crisis—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Badcoe!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —because people are saying no.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens, order! The member for Hammond has the call.