The Commonwealth Government is to limit its employment growth in Civic and give priority to developing more office space in Gungahlin, Tuggeranong and Belconnen.
It made the announcement in a response to recommendations on transport links between Gungahlin and the rest of Canberra by the Federal Joint Parliamentary Committee on the National Capital, chaired by John Langmore.
The Government has also supported: A study of a rapid-transport system for the ACT, which is under way by the National Capital Planning Authority and the ACT Planning Authority.
The construction of Majura Parkway along the line of the present Majura Lane.
(between the airport and the Federal Highway).
That Monash Drive along the foothills of Mount Ainslie and Mount Majura not be constructed.
That the extensions to Ginninderra Drive not go ahead, but that Mouat Street be widened to help reduce traffic through Lyneham and O’Connor.
On office employment, it pledged that land use and development projects shall not result in increased Commonwealth office employment in Civic unless it was minor and within agencies already there, or there was demonstrable functional efficiency.
Only key policy departments would be allowed in on national land in Parkes and Barton, such as Foreign Affairs.
The committee made its recommendations with the aim of limiting the number of vehicles going from Gungahlin to Civic.
The Commonwealth has a huge impact on office employment in Canberra. It owns about half of it and occupies about 60 per cent of it. The siting of its offices also have huge local impact. The moving of the Department of Social Security to Tuggeranong, for example, boosted a flagging town centre and help reverse some peak-hour traffic flow.
The Government supported the committee’s recommendation for reservation of land between Gungahlin and Civic for a rapid-transport system, and suggested that land be reserved throughout the ACT for it.
It said Bruce Ridge and O’Connor Hills were ACT land and only the ACT could give it further protection as recommended by the committee.
It supported the construction of a Majura Parkway (freeway), probably following the line of the existing Majura Lane. This goes from near the airport to the Federal Highway where presumably it would feed into Gungahlin. It agreed with the com mittee in rejecting construction of Monash Drive.
The Government supported a re commendation that a study be done on linking the Federal and Barton Highways with the Majura valley to encourage commercial and other through traffic to use peripheral roads, by-passing North Canberra.
The Government said that where the recommendations required changes to the National Capital Plan, it would consider them within the statutory requirements of the plan.