30-YEAR PLAN FOR GREATER ADELAIDE

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:17): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question about development in metropolitan Adelaide.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: There has been much talk about increasing the amount of residential infill development within existing suburbs of Adelaide. The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide specifically states that new metropolitan housing will gradually move from the existing 50:50 ratio of infill development to fringe development, to a ratio of 70:30 in the last years of the plan period. Will the minister please detail any state government initiatives to put this plan into reality?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:18): I thank the honourable member for his question. Since the launch of the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide in February this year, a key priority for this government has been to improve land supply which underpins the affordability of housing in the Adelaide region. This has led to land being rezoned in a number of locations such as Murray Bridge, Gawler East, Buckland Park, etc. and the Department of Planning and Local Government has been working with councils at Mount Barker, Light, Playford and the Barossa to rezone potential land supplies in their areas.

However, growing out is only one way to provide a sufficient supply of zone-ready land to maintain a 15-year pipeline. The other way, and our preferred option, is to grow upwards. While a lot of attention has recently been placed on the proposed greenfield development at Buckland Park, Mount Barker and Seaford Heights, this government has been working behind the scenes with inner city councils to unlock the potential of some of our major road and rail corridors.

While the rezonings within the fringe of our urban growth boundary will bring some greenfield sites quickly into the 15-year pipeline, the work we are doing to identify areas for urban renewal will provide the long-term solution to where we house Adelaide's growing population. Yesterday, I announced that the City of Prospect, the City of West Torrens, the City of Charles Sturt and the City of Unley have joined us in the process of unlocking the vast potential of our corridors to provide housing and jobs for South Australians. The most significant initiative in a generation means we will no longer just look outward for land for housing and employment, but upward.

Let me stress here, we are not talking about the ultra high-rise development in our suburbs. That sort of development can be best encouraged in the central business district and its fringes. By looking laterally and vertically, we can provide residential, commercial and retail opportunities of three, four and five storeys along our major roads and rail lines, with perhaps scope for a little more height, where appropriate, overlooking the Parklands.

In this way, we can also make the most of the $11.4 billion earmarked to upgrade our major freight and passenger transport corridors, and services such as hospitals and schools—that is, of course, in the figure from the 30-year plan. Not only will this initiative help us reach the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide's target of shifting the ratio of infill to fringe development from 50:50 to 70:30, it will ensure 80 per cent of existing suburbs, and their unique character and streetscapes, are left untouched as a result of the plan by the pressure to find new housing for our growing population. I am delighted that the City of Prospect, the City of West Torrens—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: —the City of Charles Sturt and the City of Unley have all committed to work with the Department of Planning and Local Government to achieve the urban renewal targets in the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. I hope that these trailblazing councils will eventually be joined by the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters, the City of Burnside and the city of Walkerville, to ensure consistency of planning for all the councils that ring the Parklands. I am pleased that the four councils embarking with us on this project are prepared to work closely with the state government in a cooperative, collaborative and productive manner that will ultimately benefit their local communities by changing the face of some of our key urban corridors.

This is a fantastic opportunity to use rezoning along the main transport corridors and within strategic areas to boost economic development and encourage local job creation. Not only will there be the potential for new styles of residential development, but the mixed use zoning will encourage retail and commercial opportunities at street level. We also want to harness open space in this area and encourage greater use of public transport and our growing bike network.

This government believes proper planning should facilitate investment rather than create an impediment. The government's plan for greater Adelaide forecasts that the economic potential unleashed by this sort of rezoning will add $11.1 billion in additional gross state product during the next 30 years, which is 4.6 per cent more than business as usual planning.

The key to the success of these reforms is ensuring that developments are attractive to home buyers, retailers and commercial operators. I am pleased to advise that the integrated design commissioner, Tim Horton, will be involved in the inner city rezoning process to ensure that any planning policies that are adopted incorporate good design.

The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide and the revitalisation of our inner suburbs is a bold plan. No doubt there will be those who wish to distort this initiative and characterise the rezoning as a threat to existing housing and heritage and the end of suburbia and the quarter-acre block.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway must sit there in silence.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: This government is mindful that we need the public's acceptance of this bold venture, so any rezoning will recognise the existing heritage and ensure sufficient transition and integration with surrounding suburbs. I have said that if we can't grow out and we can't grow up, then we won't grow at all. I don't think that is acceptable to the vast majority of reasonably minded South Australians, particularly when they think what the consequences of that would really mean.

The plan aims to actively curb urban sprawl in the next three decades but, to achieve that goal, we cannot turn our back on the opportunities that are provided by urban infill. To do so will condemn South Australians to a lower standard of living and price young homebuyers out of the housing market. Instead, we want South Australians to embrace a future that provides a range of housing styles, from studios and apartments to townhouses, as well as the traditional suburban bungalow.

We want them to have the choice to live close to town and nearby our upgraded public transport or near their jobs at Edinburgh Park in the north and Tonsley Park in the south, and other employment opportunities, both further afield and in between. The 30-year plan provides South Australians with choice, and choices they can afford. Again, I congratulate the councils that have joined the government on this initiative and look forward to other councils taking part in this journey.