The Canberra Liberals housing plan claims to deliver 125,000 homes by 2050. But 100,000 of these homes are projected to come from redeveloping Kowen into Canberra’s newest district.
Building a brand new district of Canberra is an extremely slow process. Should we decide to develop Kowen tomorrow, no new homes would be built until well into the 2030s. Relying solely on this development to meet our housing needs would also condemn many lower-income Canberrans to an isolated enclave 20km away from Civic, and require costly investments in new highways that would place enormous pressure on our road system.
The Liberals do not have a credible answer about how to provide the housing Canberrans need now, because they have refused to commit to substantial suburban zoning reform, unlike ACT Labor and the Greens. While they propose to allow dual occupancies on RZ1 blocks over 800m2, this represents a step backwards from their policy at the 2020 election, which allowed duplexes on 700m2 blocks. Such a modest reform is totally inadequate to meet the housing challenges in our city’s most expensive suburbs.
If elected, a new Liberal Government must go further and deliver the Missing Middle Canberra platform, including upzoning RZ1 areas to the RZ2 standard to allow for larger blocks to be unified and for ageing, poor quality detached homes to be replaced with low-rise townhouses. Far from ‘despoiling’ our suburbs, this kind of new housing adds to their amenity and community, including by enabling older Canberrans to age in place.
These failings are particularly lamentable in light of the positive ideas contained in the rest of the Liberal’s planning policy. Their commitment to allow more homes in mixed-use retail and trades precincts would allow other parts of Canberra to share in the success of Braddon - a welcome move considering the government’s recent inexplicable decision to ban housing in the Philip Trades area. We note the Assembly’s Standing Committee on Planning, Transport and City Services unanimously recommended that the Government reverse this ban.
Canberrans deserve better than a plan for suburban sprawl in 20 years time. The Canberra Liberals need to explain how they will deliver the homes that Canberrans need now, in the places people want to live. At the moment this policy falls well short.
The above statement is attributable to Howard Maclean, Convenor, Greater Canberra.
Greater Canberra will be holding an election forum, Planning for Canberra’s Future, on Wednesday 2 October at 6pm, with Chris Steel MLA (Labor), Peter Cain MLA (Liberals), Jo Clay MLA (Greens) and Thomas Emerson (Independents for Canberra). Tickets are available via Eventbrite, and a livestream/recording will be made available.
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About Greater Canberra
Greater Canberra is a community advocacy group committed to affordable and high-quality housing in Canberra. We believe in a future where housing is abundant, and where everyone can enjoy a more sustainable and liveable city. For more information, see https://greatercanberra.org.