House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-14 Daily Xml

Contents

Question Time

30-YEAR PLAN FOR GREATER ADELAIDE

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (14:19): Will the Premier inform the house about the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:19): I am very pleased to receive this question from the honourable member for Light. The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide was released in draft form for consultation last week. The plan was the key recommendation of the planning review and it has been undertaken in close collaboration with local government.

This plan follows a strong tradition of planning for urban growth in Adelaide. In 1837, Colonel William Light prepared the first urban plan for Adelaide. It stood this state in good stead for more than 100 years until the next planning review in the 1960s. Because of these plans, Adelaide is today regarded as one of the most liveable cities in the world. But the time has arrived to frame another updated planning strategy. This new vision for Adelaide needs to address issues such as population growth, shifts in demographics and lifestyle, climate change and the need for a new urban form.

The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide will ensure that we maintain our strong economic growth, our lifestyle and our housing choices. It will ensure that we are well prepared for challenges such as our ageing population and climate change. It will ensure that Adelaide enjoys a competitive advantage in terms of energy and water consumption, and it will ensure Adelaide's future as a vibrant, liveable, climate change resilient city.

This plan complements the Water for Good strategy, which outlines how we are providing secure, sustainable water supplies for the expansion of our state's population base into the future. The Plan for Greater Adelaide will guide where people live, how South Australia will grow its population and how it will provide for jobs. The plan is about people but it is also an economic blueprint. It will protect key employment precincts and set aside more than 5,300 hectares of land designated for business expansion to enable job creation. This will allow for the ongoing expansion of our defence and manufacturing sectors and, crucially, protect our valuable agricultural land. In addition, a new program will be introduced to ensure a 25 year rolling supply of residential land. The plan will ensure that we have enough land for houses and for jobs to remain a competitive city that attracts and retains its people.

KPMG estimates that, when implemented, the plan will add $11 billion to South Australia's economic performance during the next 30 years. It will provide for 560,000 new residents, 258,000 new homes and 282,000 new jobs. Construction of the majority of new homes within metropolitan Adelaide will be encouraged within transit corridors, including 13 new transit-oriented developments (TODs) that are to be supported by an upgraded public transport system. These developments will incorporate world-class building design, sustainable energy and water use, a modern connective transport system, a network of green corridors, employment precincts and vibrant parklands and cultural hubs. The plan will cut development time frames by introducing more efficient planning instruments and by rezoning entire strategic corridors. This is important for developers, and we expect it to lead to significant new investment in our key transport corridors.

The plan, of course, is underpinned by an $11.4 billion investment in infrastructure to be spent during the next four years, to upgrade and modernise our transport networks, hospitals and schools and to supply the water needed to sustain population and economic growth. When Australia moves out of the global economic downturn, South Australia will be ready with land for jobs and land for housing, new transport and infrastructure construction underway and a planning system that allows for certainty of investment and faster decision making while protecting heritage, character and biodiversity.

The government has developed what we believe is a world-class plan that will give South Australia the flexibility, competitiveness, sustainability and quality of life that will ensure prosperity for many generations to come. The launch of the plan has been welcomed by both industry and local government. The Property Council has welcomed the plan as a 'robust, long-term approach to urban growth for South Australia'. The Planning Institute of Australia calls it 'the most economically focused planning strategy in our state's history'. The Local Government Association has welcomed the plan as 'a plan to position Adelaide over the next 30 years as a vibrant, sustainable and liveable city'.

The government will continue to consult with local government and industry over the coming months and, through our public consultation process, we ask all South Australians to help us shape the plan's final policies and targets to make a lasting contribution to the city in which we live.