Question Time

WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTRES

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (16:05): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question about car parking at the Westfield Shopping Centres complex at West Lakes.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Last year Westfield Shopping Centres lodged an application with the City of Charles Sturt to install boom gates at the entrance to the West Lakes shopping complex at its 10 entrances, as well as ticketing machines. I have been contacted by a number of concerned residents of the western suburbs in relation to this issue, and I am advised that last Monday night the council met and received at least two submissions from the No Car Parking Fees for West Lakes Shopping Centre Group.

Since that time the council apparently has decided, given its shared sentiments with the people of that group and a conflict of interest that exists within the council, to refer the decision on who should assess this application to the minister. It is interesting to note that the Australian Electoral Commission donations return shows that, from 2002 to 2007, Westfield Shopping Centres donated some $64,100 to the ALP. My questions to the minister are:

1. Which body should assess this application by Westfield Shopping Centres?

2. Does the West Lakes Development Act 1969—the original indenture—protect the residents from the impost of parking fees?

3. Has the minister or any other government minister met with Westfield Shopping Centres, or representatives of that organisation, since the time of the application?

4. How much has Westfield Shopping Centres donated to the ALP in the past 12 months?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (16:10): In relation to the last question, I have no idea. If the honourable member wants to find out, he should look it up on the Australian Electoral Commission website.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Not to my knowledge. I go to lots of functions all the time.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I do. I speak at all sorts of dinners and lunches, as would the honourable member, and it is probably quite likely that there would be Westfield people at some of them. However, I certainly have not to been to any fundraising dinners recently, let alone any relating to Westfield.

This is all a red herring because, in any case, I will not be accepting the proposition put by the Charles Sturt council that I should make the determination in relation to what is a boom gate in a car park. Councils quite regularly write to me to ask that the Development Assessment Commission be involved in a planning area because of a perceived conflict of interest by the council. In this case, I think I had a letter from the Chief Executive Officer of Charles Sturt council informing me that the council would be moving this resolution and would therefore be conflicted.

This parliament passed some changes to the Development Act several years ago to appoint development assessment panels, in the majority made up of independent members. There is no reason an independent development assessment panel, consisting in the majority of independent members, should not be able to make a decision in this case.

As I said earlier, I get regular requests from councils, and I analyse them fairly carefully. The Development Assessment Commission (DAC) has a significant workload dealing with very important development matters. In this case, the development application is simply for a boom gate at a shopping centre, and I would not think that would be a significant development application. However, what is significant are the issues behind it, and they are not development issues.

There may be significant issues in relation to whether or not charging should be undertaken at car parks, but that is really a matter for local government to address. It is not something that should be decided as a planning matter; rather, I would think it is a question of legal issues. Really, the thrust of the honourable member's question is whether the indenture would allow that to happen. They are legal issues to be determined.

I believe that the installation of a boom gate at a shopping centre is a matter that should be determined by the council and the independent development panel of that council. I have certainly made a decision to write back to the Chief Executive of the Charles Sturt council informing him that I believe the council's DAP is the appropriate body to make the decision on the matter. I often get these requests from councils, because they may have some interest, perceived or otherwise, in relation to a particular development issue. In most cases, it is my practice to refer those requests back to the council, particularly since they now have development assessment panels, which are comprised in the majority of independent members.

The development assessment panel is the body that should determine whether or not there should be boom gates at a car park. The Development Assessment Commission will occasionally have to determine issues where there is a genuine conflict of interest involving councils, but I do not believe that is the case in this instance.