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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-04-30 Daily Xml
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POPULATION GROWTH

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Planning. Does the minister agree with those who base their opinions about our planning system on the assumption of zero population growth?

The SPEAKER: Oh, excellent, excellent! The Minister for Planning.

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:58): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for—

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Mr Speaker. We have to take a point of order here. This is simply a repeat of an earlier question so that the minister can complete the last 90 seconds of his briefing notes, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Well, that may be so, but I don't think there is anything in standing orders that prohibits repetitive questioning by the government of itself.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Indeed. If that were the measure, none of the opposition's questions would be in order at all. In any event, I thank the honourable member for her question—and, yes, I do have a view about this. The fact is that the science underpinning planning includes some idea of growth in our community, and people who commence the debate about planning from a preconception that there will not be growth are not only completely unreal but it means that we are left with a situation where any solution which they put forward entails both an end to urban sprawl and an end to any infill or any increase in density. This, of course, is possible only in circumstances where there is both no population growth and no re-formation of families or changes in family circumstances, both of which are completely and utterly impossible.

So, for people to enter the planning debate in an intelligent fashion and to have something constructive to say about the planning debate—and I accept that there are many alternative opinions, all of which should be listened in the marketplace—one entry point into that discussion is that you remove the ZPG fantasy from your lexicon and start debating it on the basis of things such as, for example, ABS statistics, which I think somebody mentioned earlier today.

In any event, what we want to see is an end to urban sprawl to the north and the south. This government has introduced legislation to protect the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale from urban sprawl. We also want to see a more vibrant city here in Adelaide, and we have taken steps to ensure there has been a rezoning of the City of Adelaide—done, I might say, with the full cooperation of the Adelaide City Council, for which I thank them. At the time they thought it was an excellent idea and I believe they probably still continue to think it is an excellent idea.

We want to see more people living in a vibrant city and participating in all that this city has to offer but, for those people who want to put their head in the sand, unfortunately it means an increase in population, some areas with higher density and a more European-style city. The ABS data that has recently been produced confirms that is the track that Adelaide is on, whether the ZPG people like it or not.

Can I also say that I was delighted to meet with some of the young entrepreneurs in Adelaide who are taking advantage of this new atmosphere and are looking to open up new small venues in our city. The city is on the cusp of becoming far more enlivened. All of those people who doubt this, I invite you to go down to Peel Street and talk to the young people down there, talk to the young people in Leigh Street and have a look at some of the new venues that are opening up around the place.

The young gentleman who was there with us the other day, Mr Stanley, tells me he has seven, eight or nine other friends he knows of who are interested in taking advantage of this. This all feeds into the same picture—sensible higher density city development—and the people who want to approach this debate from the perspective of zero population growth are dealing themselves out of the debate because their premise is completely false.

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