The Greens' Caroline Le Couteur has once again hit out at developer-driven planning decisions, saying the community is rightly concerned about exactly who is "calling the shots".
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Ms Le Couteur was made chair of the ACT parliament's planning committee on Tuesday, in line with the Greens power-sharing agreement with Labor.
"Over the last few months the community has spoken up loudly and clearly that they are concerned about the future of our city, and are concerned about exactly who is calling the shots," she said, promising a review of planning rules to "make sure decisions are being made with, not for, the community".
"Right now it would be easy to think that planning decisions are being made for the developers, not for the community. With too many of our green spaces being taken over by concrete, and developers getting away with poor quality, poorly insulated multi-unit buildings, it is no wonder Canberrans are questioning who these decisions are meant to be serving."
Ms Le Couteur said she would work to protect open spaces near homes, to ensure convenient public transport and to make sure homes and suburbs were being built for people with children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Ms Le Couteur's Greens colleague Shane Rattenbury largely supported the government in its actions in the last term of government, but Ms Le Couteur is signalling a more combative approach, despite Mr Rattenbury's ongoing presence in the Labor cabinet.
In her first question at Question Time on Tuesday, she asked Mr Barr about one of the most controversial issues of the year - the Land Development Agency's purchase of land in Glebe Park from local developers for $4.2 million.
The purchase, and others at West Basin, were the subject of a damning audit report in October.
Agency chief executive David Dawes made the decision to buy the land, only referring it to the agency's board afterwards.
In her question, Ms Le Couteur said Mr Dawes had told the planning committee in November every acquisition under $5 million went to the board, but the auditor had found otherwise.
"Minister, can you explain this discrepancy?" she asked, following up with, "Can you explain why only one formal evaluation was obtained for the Glebe Park purchase?"
Ms Le Couteur joins the ACT parliament as Canberra faces planning challenges on several fronts.
Public housing and other buildings in Northbourne Avenue are being demolished to make way for high-density development. One massive block has been sold to a developer who will hold a community drop-in session on Thursday, December 15 at the Pavilion. Another block fronting almost half a kilometre of Northbourne Avenue at Lyneham is on the market. The two sites will see 1200 new apartments, as well as hotel, shopping, office and other development.
The government is also preparing to sell the first blocks in its City to the Lake development at West Basin, with land being sold around City Hill initially, and then at the lake front.
Major development fronts are open in West Belconnen, where 1800 homes are to be built by 2022, and at Denman Prospect, Molonglo, where the first blocks are being sold in what will ultimately be a suburb of 4000 dwellings.
Crucially, the government is devising its route for stage 2 of the tram from the city to Woden, with planning playing a key role in the decisions. The government is looking to maximise development along the tramline to boost patronage and encourage people to use public transport. The government wants those decisions made next year.
The planning directorate has also opened public consultation on changed to the Territory Plan that will force developers to cater for cyclists and pedestrians and encourage "active living". Among a number of changes to planning law, 95 per cent of dwellings in new developments will have to be within 500 metres of a bus stop or within 750 metres of a frequent network - replacing the current requirement for 90 per cent of dwellings to be within those distances. A new rule also requires "well-lit and connected walking access" from developments to bus stops.
The Property Council welcomed a review of planning, ACT head Adina Cirson said the property sector should be involved from the outset.
"Everyone's got a stake in this. Everyone has to be involved if we're going to get it right," she said, saying the inquiry should not start from an anti-developer perspective but recognise that developers themselves were very community focused.
