The ACT Greens have today called for Molonglo to be a genuine model of sustainability with low water and energy use, and clever design innovations that will make it an easy and pleasant place for Canberrans to live.

The Greens Parliamentary team today launched a discussion paper on the planned Molonglo urban district for the Canberra community to debate and provide feedback

“The Molonglo development will become home to 55,000 Canberrans.  We need to take on new design and planning innovations to build an urban village for the 21st century that is low on water and energy use,” Greens Parliamentary Convenor, Meredith Hunter, said today.

“This is an important development that requires a whole of Government commitment to make sure we get the best outcomes for the Canberra community.

“But most importantly, we would like to bring the people of Canberra and their interests, knowledge and expertise into the discussion.”

The paper outlines 11 design and planning issues that address high sustainability, including water and energy use, transport options, design that promotes healthy communities and ongoing protection of our natural areas.

“It is time for us to move towards building zero emissions neighbourhoods,” Greens Environment spokesperson, Shane Rattenbury said.

“We must face up to being the largest inland city on the driest continent on earth.  Water sensitive design and non-potable water use is the only way to sustainably support this growth in the region’s population.”

“Protecting the biodiversity of the Molonglo river corridor is a priority and something we know that future residents will value. A chain of ponds is a far better option than building a dam,” Mr Rattenbury said.

“It’s often said that Canberra is a ‘car city’.  Building Molonglo from scratch gives us a chance to have fast and frequent public transport, on dedicated routes that will provide a very attractive alternative to the private vehicle,” Greens Transport spokesperson Amanda Bresnan said.

“Let’s not make the mistake of trying to add public transport only when demand grows.  It needs to be there from the very beginning to nurture a culture of public transport use.”

Greens Planning spokesperson, Caroline Le Couteur, said that Molonglo could become Canberra’s most truly affordable area.

“Our vision for Molonglo is for a place where housing is well designed so that heating and cooling costs are low, there is local employment, people live close to schools and shops, and there are good bus and bike transport links to the rest of Canberra.

“Molonglo should cost less to live in because it is well designed and these savings will help housing affordability.  In turn, savings in resource use mean that Molonglo will has less environmental impact.

“The Molonglo development has the potential to be a turning point for the ACT and Australia as we design and plan for a world where we need to account carefully for our energy and water use.

“This discussion paper presents ideas to the people of Canberra about an affordable and sustainable way to build and live that we can be proud of,” Ms Le Couteur said.

The Greens will consult on the discussion paper over the next two months, holding a public forum at the Assembly and engaging with community organisations and other stakeholders.

Please click here to view the discussion paper

Submissions will be received until 9/04/10 – send to: LeCouteur@parliament.act.gov.au

Greens Planning Spokesperson, Caroline Le Couteur MLA has called on the Planning Minster to publicly release advice he says led to a decision to exempt parts of the Molonglo development from Environmental Impact Study.

“Including an EIS is standard practice, and part of the Planning & Development Act.” Ms Le Couteur said.

“If the Minister says he’s received detailed environmental assessment that led to this decision, he must publicly release the reports and a statement of reasons.”

“Mr Barr’s press release is riddled with contradictions. He’s claiming credit for protecting Central Molonglo after the Government was dragged kicking and screaming to that position last year.”

“Then he announces the exemption of environmental assessment disguised under the headline ‘Keeping land release… environmentally sustainable’.”

“Molonglo should be a showcase of sustainability. It’s our chance to get it right and this should not involve skipping the usual planning processes.”

“The first suburbs are likely to be Wright (named after renowned poet and environmentalist Judith Wright) and Coombs, which borders the Molonglo River.”

“We would think that an EIS would help identify the right location for the border of the suburb along the river to minimise impact on wildlife, including the Pink Tailed Worm Lizard, at the rivers edge.”

“The Minister should be open about the information he’s received and give the assurance that we are not rushing this development at the expense of the natural environment.” Ms Le Couteur said.

Candidate for Molonglo Shane Rattenbury has today launched the Greens Water policy, focussed on reducing water demand.

“The future predictions for our part Australia point to a hotter and drier climate. With increasing population, future water security will be dependant on managing demand for water, particularly increasing our water efficiency. The Greens are determined to work with Canberra households and businesses to tackle that,” said Rattenbury.

“In order to cut water use, the Greens want a funded program where a qualified plumber visits houses and undertakes maintenance and repairs such as fixing or replacing leaking hot water systems and pipes, installing dual flush toilet systems, fitting low flow taps, shower heads and other water savings devices.”

“Our target is to deliver this to 25,000 households over the next four years, around 20% of Canberra households. This program will cost approximately $8 million.”

We also want to investigate similar initiatives with the commercial sector.

Other key initiatives in the Greens water policy include:

-Replacing the current staged system of water restrictions with a permanent strategy to achieve water conservation targets;

-Establishing a Legislative Assembly Inquiry to consider the best options for ensuring a sustainable water supply in the ACT. During the current Assembly, Labor refused to support a Select Committee on this, and the Inquiry they did establish never reported before the Assembly finished;

-Accelerating the program to replace stormwater drains with urban creek and wetland systems, beginning with the completion of the Sullivans Creek wetland network;

-The new urban development of Molonglo to be built with a ‘third pipe’ installed at the same time as other infrastructure. The third pipe provides treated recycled water to recreational areas and all households for non-potable use;

-Encourage further uptake of urban water tanks by:
-Removing the requirement that they must be plumbed into houses to gain the rebate;
-Removing the planning stipulation that tanks can only be sited in the backyard or hidden from view; and
-Reviewing whether rebates need to be increased.

“This package of measures is designed to cut demand for water use, and ensure that Canberra has a secure water supply in to the future,” concluded Rattenbury.

The Greens want a solar test applied to all new developments in the ACT, Greens candidate for Molonglo Shane Rattenbury announced today.

“Now that we know the benefits of passive solar design in our living and work spaces, it is time for the planning approval process to catch up and include building orientation and access to sunshine in its development approval process,” said Rattenbury

“For instance, the development proposed for the Burnie Court site in Lyons, as described in Draft Variation No 288, is laid out in such a way that it makes poor use of the free energy of the sun.”

“At the moment, the Territory Plan says that overshadowing is allowed so long as it allows a minimum of three hours in some part of the living areas of existing dwellings. That’s a pretty minimal requirement”

“The Lyons Estate (nee Burnie Court) redevelopment is starting from scratch, so there is no reason why every single dwelling should not have good solar access.”

“The entire new development of Molonglo is the same. We have to be building suburbs now that are fit for the 21st century, not designed like it is the 1980’s.”

“We have to get smarter about planning and building if we want to reduce our carbon footprint and our planning system has a key part to plan in this process,” concluded Rattenbury

ACT Greens Candidate for Molonglo, Shane Rattenbury, has called for a rethink of the planning for the Molonglo development.

“We can’t just blindly build a new town centre without the necessary planning needed to build sustainable communities.” Mr Rattenbury said.

“The transport, solar passivity, water and open spaces must be done right from the beginning.”

“We should be looking at living within our environment sustainably, not on top of it.”

“I reaffirm my opposition to a new lake, which threatens the river bed and is not the only answer to stormwater management.”

“The Greens will look for adequate sustainability planning before supporting any changes to the National Capital or Territory Plan’s in the new Assembly.” Mr Rattenbury said.