The Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, Bill Wood, had no difficulty with the chairman of ACT Electricity and Water, Peter Phillips, being a shareholder in a North Canberra urban-renewal development, Mr Wood said yesterday.
Mr Wood said he was aware of Mr Phillips’s shareholding in a joint development with the ACT Housing Trust in Braddon.
Mr Phillips has defended his investment saying he was proud to be a joint investor in providing a public-private housing mix.
North Canberra development has been mentioned in the Better Cities program.
An “”area strategy” for North Canberra was presented by the ACT Government after its funding agreement with the Federal Government was signed in December. The strategy says “”sewer augmentation will be required” and, “”the funding sought by the ACT Government for the Area Strategy for North Canberra from the Better Cities Program will enable these essential works to be undertaken. Urban renewal in North Watson and elsewhere in North Canberra is directly and indirectly dependent upon these sewer augmentation works.”
ACTEW has responsibility for the Canberra sewerage system and the pricing of sewerage connection and services in the ACT.
Mr Phillips points out that he has no input in the detail of sewerage connection or charging.
The ACT will get some $14 million under the Building Better Cities program.
The ACT-Federal agreement seeks better use of urban land, reduced traffic congestion and pollution costs, reduced institutional services provision, improved efficiency of funds allocated to urban development and infrastructure provision, increased housing choice, reform of pricing and the financing of urban infrastructure.
In a letter to adjacent residents last week the assistant secretary of lease management said the development of 34 units on four former single-residence blocks had been approved. The letter said that only the applicant for redevelopment could appeal against the minister’s decision. The application to vary the lease-purpose clause and the development proposal was consistent with the Territory Plan and that the application had been approved by the Minister.
Mr Wood said of Mr Phillips’s investment, “”Nothing has been drawn to my attention at this stage which would cause me to have any difficulty.”
Caution was necessary with all public office holders, but work by ACTEW was “”fairly routine”.
“”Certainly the Chief Planner or the Secretary of the Department should not be involved in development,” he said. “”Whether Mr Phillips should be frozen out of development is another matter.”
The question was where was the line should be drawn.
He said of Mr Phillips, “”He is a private citizen.”
The work of ACTEW was fairly routine. Of the Braddon development he said, “”Existing sewers will do the job.”
Mr Phillips said yesterday that his investment pre-dated the Better Cities agreement and pre-dated the ACT Government’s urban renewal program.
Mr Phillips’s investment is through his family company which holds 20 per cent of Bobundra Pty Ltd. Bobundra was a 50-50 joint investor with the ACT Housing Trust.
“”Because I am chairman of ACTEW, I have been painstaking about the way I have handled this investment,” Mr Phillips said. The public record will show that we have been through all the approvals and planning processes meticulously. However, I will not allow myself to be limited in my investments. For example, I would not exclude myself buying Westpac shares just because ACTEW banks with them.”
People were trying to stop the development. They had tried various methods, including objection through the planning process which was their democratic right. However, the planning committee of the Assembly had approved the plan.
Mr Phillips said his company was proud of being a joint venturer with the public sector and hoped to do other joint medium-density developments with the ACT Housing Trust and other public-sector housing providers.
When Mr Wood was asked about how the Better Cities money would be applied and what mechanisms, if any, the Government had put in place to ensure the money flowed through to medium-density purchasers and public tenants, Mr Wood said Better Cities money would be directed to broad sewerage infrastructure. He did not know what work would be needed. He had not explored the issue. He did not know where the mains were in the area and had not considered the question of sewerage in connection with that issue.
But there was no direct funding for this proposal under the Better Cities program.
However, the area strategy mentions the construction of sewerage augmentation for North Canberra and points to the Braddon project as a demonstration of the energy-saving and public-private-mix policies of the area strategy.
The strategy says, “”This is the first significant medium-density renewal project to be constructed in the locality, adjacent to a major employment centre. It will constitute a demonstration model of a well-integrated medium density residential development.”
Questions about the ACT’s use of Better Cities money were raised in Federal Parliament by the Independent ted Mack, but were unanswered at the time Parliament was prorogued.
A month ago the Braddon project came under fire from the institute of architects for not making the best use of solar energy, but was defended by the Minister for Urban Services, Terry Connolly, as an appropriate design given the restrictions of the site.