As vacancy rates in Canberra's central business district hit a 20-year high, Canberra's business figures have called for special laws to renew the city centre.
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In response, Chief Minister Andrew Barr says the government would be making an announcement in coming months about new policies to stimulate Canberra's business district.
Canberra CBD Limited chief executive officer Jane Easthope said the city centre was a thermometer of the ACT's economic and cultural prosperity.
"Right now, it's a very poor reflection of who we are and what the condition is of the whole of the city and it desperately needs some attention," she said.
Ms Easthope was one of the few people to challenge Mr Barr at his speech to business owners on Tuesday, asking a question about how the ACT government intended to reinvigorate the CBD.
"This is not about greedy property owners or developers, this is about Canberra moving into the next phase of really having a pre-eminent CBD which is a bit of a showcase of us," she said.
Ms Easthope said she wanted to see policies to provide financial and planning incentives for business and developers which set up shop in the city.
"We just need to unlock those constraints and allow those owners [to succeed]" she said.
Mr Barr said while the CBD continued to evolve as a vibrant and active location, the pace of change needed to be increased with measures to stimulate demand.
"The government will makes further policy announcements to achieve this goal in the coming months," he said.
Mr Barr said there were a number of government projects and events which were already stimulating demand and redeveloping the CBD including the Bunda Street upgrades.
Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson said government policies such as the lease variation charge should be reconsidered to allow developers and businesses to operate more freely in the city.
"There are a number of commercial office buildings which are sitting there, vacant, because developers who'd like to turn them into residential apartments which would bring potentially thousands of people into Civic [aren't able] because of punitive taxes," he said.
"The government's own policies right there, right now, are in many ways stopping business from developing. We've got to allow business to flourish."
Canberra Business Chamber chairman Glenn Keys said there had to be a co-ordinated plan around the CBD to bring together all disparate groups involved.
"We've got a great City to the Lake plan, what we need is a great city plan," he said.
