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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-23 Daily Xml
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CITY OF ADELAIDE DEVELOPMENT

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (14:20): My question is to the Minister for Planning. Can the minister inform the house about progress of the government's work to improve the development processes in the City of Adelaide?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:20): I thank the honourable member for his question. I know he has a very keen and longstanding interest in questions of development and local government. I noted, as I am sure a number of other people in this chamber did, a report in the Adelaide Advertiser about a proposal for development in the City of Adelaide and the outcome of that, or at least the present outcome of that. I do not want to comment on that decision specifically, but it should be noted that the application and that matter will ultimately wind up in front of Development Assessment Commission.

However, I have been concerned for some time about the need for the city council's policies to encourage and deliver appropriate and interesting development in the City of Adelaide. The city must take a lead in delivering the promise of the 30-year plan. The Premier today in his remarks has already commented on his commitment to reinvigorating our city, which underscores the need for good, flexible planning policies in the City of Adelaide.

In August of this year I spoke at an Urban Development Institute of Australia luncheon. At that event, I made the point that good planning decisions can only be made if we have the appropriate planning policy in place for assessment authorities to make consistent decisions, and that we have to concentrate on ensuring we have appropriate planning policies in place. I also made the point that I was concerned that the rezoning of the City of Adelaide was not happening quickly enough.

I can indicate that my department was directed to review the city's planning policy framework. I am able to report that my department has been engaged and been working positively with the inner rim councils to explore how the objectives of the 30-year Plan for Greater Adelaide might be beneficial to their communities, but the city is and must be our primary focus. It is my view the 30-year plan needs to be coordinated across the city, and the Adelaide City Council is central in this process.

We need good, flexible zoning quality to ensure good, innovative design and to make sure that it is not prevented in Adelaide. We must have zoning in place to allow good designs to be assessed by the people who should assess them. Good design should not be prevented from seeing the light of day because of overly restrictive height and densities set out in dinosaur development plans. Investors need certainty, transparency and approval timelines that are measured in weeks and months, not years.

I am pleased to say that there has been, as the Premier has already indicated in his remarks, a positive partnering with the planning department and the Adelaide City Council to prepare a package of possible reforms by the end of this year that could include rezoning changes, activating public spaces and reinvigorating underused buildings. This will then demonstrate how the government is working with the local council to deliver a vision for a dynamic City of Adelaide.

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