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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-17 Daily Xml
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Question Time

URBAN LAND SUPPLY

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question about urban land supply.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: This afternoon we heard the minister talk about the government's intention to have a 25-year rolling land supply—which I guess is five years longer than the opposition's announcement on rolling land supply some six weeks ago. So, the government is five years ahead of us, in one sense.

Given that the population growth of this state initially was expected to reach 2 million by 2050, but now all experts are saying that it will be 2030, it has been predicted that we will need somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 new dwellings in the next 30 years to cope with that increase in population. There is the recently announced 25-year rolling land supply, but there has been no commitment other than to look at an extension of the southern railway line. Given that we have about 30 years, and 200,000 to 300,000 new dwellings is roughly 10,000 a year, where will next year's 10,000 new homes be built?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:50): The current urban growth boundary of this state has approximately 15 years land supply in it and the government, having accepted the recommendations of the planning review, will be seeking to extend that land out to 25 years. The other recommendation was that 15 years of that supply should be rezoned for ready use. Obviously, that will be the priority of the land which was recently put within the urban growth boundary. It will be a priority to ensure that that land is rezoned as quickly as possible to make it available for urban use.

Of course, following the recommendation, we will be seeking to implement the other recommendation of increasing the boundary for that 25-year supply. Another recommendation made by the planning review, in particular recommendation 12, states:

a) The organising principle for distributing population, housing and employment growth for new and existing areas should be focused on the Adelaide region's network of transport corridors.

b) A large proportion of infill growth of about 70 per cent should be concentrated in the major transport corridors, particularly in the centres and potential Transit Oriented Developments that are located or situated within those corridors. This method of distributing growth (around corridors and Transit Oriented Developments) is essential to accommodate growth and change and to provide the economic basis for improving existing transport infrastructure.

In relation to the growth, there is this aspirational target, if you like, that up to 70 per cent of infill growth should be concentrated around our transport corridors, which has great benefits for the state. Obviously, it will reduce the pressure on our roads and the dependence on fossil fuels.

Of course, none of this would have been possible if our railway system was still using diesel rail cars because of the problems with noise and pollution with that particular form of traffic. Hence, as part of the planning review to achieve these objectives of our growth, the transport policies announced by the Treasurer and the Minister for Transport in the budget 1½ weeks ago were absolutely essential for this to happen. You have to have an electrified railway system to get the best benefit out of growth along the corridor.

There will be growth in those areas within the urban growth boundary, but there will also be the infill growth. It is worth pointing out that, over the past five to 10 years, I am told that, of the growth of the new dwellings built within Adelaide, between 50 and 60 per cent of that growth would be regarded as infill, which is either apartments within the CBD or other high-rise areas around the city or other brownfield development around the city. Only about 40 to 50 per cent of growth is in greenfields development.

The planning review suggests that our aspirational target should be approximately 70 per cent infill development to 30 per cent greenfield. However, that will still require some greenfield development. Under the planning policies, we will aim to have 25 years within the urban growth boundary, with 15 years zoned ready, and we will be beginning work on that straightaway. Essentially, the growth will be up to the market, but we will need to ensure that land within the urban growth boundary is rezoned for that growth purpose as quickly as possible, and that we further extend those boundaries while, at the same time, ensuring that we do promote this infill growth and transit oriented development growth which will give us the best maximum use of our transport corridors.

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