Greens ready to pull the plug?

Yellowsnow @ #22 – thanks for that. After looking thru those URLs and a couple of others and speaking to some people that know what’s going on and what the likely outcomes will be, it seems things will be pretty bleak. Will there be a dedicated bus lane? No. Will there be ‘Copenhagen’ lanes for bikes? No. Will the first new road be 80km/h with heaps of side streets coming off it to slow things down and make it less safe? Yes. Etc etc. Nobody seems very impressed.

Is this the fault of the engineers, architects, and landscape architects that have been commissioned to design things? No. They’re just working to a brief. Who could have ensured a good outcome? The government. Did they? No. They are as weak as piss, and I’m feeling more and more concerned about the Greens’ ability to function effectively as a third (and sane) voice.

As an addendum, I don’t think the material on the government websites (or the design of the sites themselves) could in any way be designed as ‘fine’.

http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/topics/significant_projects/planning_studies/molonglo_valley/molonglo_valley_environmental_assessments

so, the greens have just realised that stanhope has been using them for the past few years and that they really are completely and totally irrelevant in his (the CM’s) eyes.

as hb said, it is identified under the EPBC Act so any attempt to develop it would trigger the Act which will bring in the big guns from federal environment. Stanhope must know this.

The feds are doing a strategic assessment of the Molongolo Valley under the EPBC Act:

http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/topics/significant_projects/planning_studies/molonglo_valley/molonglo_valley_environmental_assessments

In the paper version of the Canberra Times today: Greens caved already. Meredith Hunter makes it clear the ALP-Greens friendship is as solid as a rock.

Beau Locks @ #20 – you clearly haven’t looked very hard if you couldn’t find a masterplan for Molonglo (mind you, ACT govt websites and associated search enginges are CRAP, it’s hard to find anything, so you’re forgiven. I suspect the ACT govt wants to keep its population in the dark so they can’t dissent on decisions that will make them worse off, while also allowing them to tick the consultation box — as in, “What do you mean we haven’t consulted on this? We out out a vague, densely written document on a difficult to locate webpage, which was up for a good few days before we made the decision! If you haven’t read it or seen it, that’s your fault”).

Anyway, you can follow these links to see what’s being planned:

http://www.tams.act.gov.au/move/roads/construction_projects/north_south_arterial
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/ni/2008-27/copy/71101/pdf/2008-27.pdf
http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/topics/significant_projects/planning_studies/molonglo_valley/molonglo_valley_environmental_assessments

As for the pond — it’s definitely on the board. It had better be, because they’ve already committed $17m in the budget to building it, and work has already started on it. In fact there’s already an almightly hole in the ground near the RSPCA where, once all the asbestos contaminated soil is removed (!!!) the scenic water is going to go (i kid you not, the whole area was an illegal asbestos dumping ground prior to the bushfires, i wonder if the prospective Molongloites are going to be told before they buy?).

Actually, I’m surprised it took the Greens so long to start questioning Molonglo. These plans have been around for a while — why wait so long before they kick up a fuss? Though I’m glad they finally did. Serves the govt right for waiving the usual EIS process because well … it’s the govt, it can, and it doesn’t want pesky environmentalist or endangered ecosystemts to stand in the way of reaping maximum profit from landsales (if this ain’t a conflict of interest I don’t know is — a classic case of the regulator regulating itself, which is never a good idea).

What about the frogs and reptiles down there? This development will surely kill them all off.

All the other areas have pollution control ponds to help deal with runoff, I haven’t seen anything like that for the new monopoly board layout.

Grail, I’ll be the first to apologise if I’ve got it wrong, and it sounds like I may have on a number of fronts. I was basing my rant on info from speaking to a bunch of different people with something to say, win, or lose over the development over the last year. After a ferret around of the fine material on the LDA website I can’t find anything resembling a masterplan of the area or comprehensive details of the measures you outlined in your post. A URL or two would be useful. Don’t forget how some of our other appalling suburbs were spruiked with similar language.

I can’t see anything on the LDA website about new access roads (just something about how there won’t be too much extra impact on existing roads…bah), that ACTION will deliver transport when it feels like it (hmmm….), nothing about a new road or bus lane to Belco (which would be very helpful). Think how poorly people in Gunghalin were served for public transport for a decade. Still are.

And wot of the proposed lake that I’d previously heard about? Is this definitely off the plans? I see no mention, which means it may or may not be on the masterplan, which I can’t find. Blocks less than 500m2 don’t mean a lot. Just putting bad houses on smaller blocks of land. Strip malls are good, so why bulldoze heaps of land for a big one? Blocks at 200-300m2 would have more currency, especially if people were allowed to build right to the side, and go up with an second story attic (terrace style housing).

Yup, I may well be wrong. If so, I’ll be very happy. I’d feel better if I could find some detailed masterplans. It’d be great if someone could direct me towards such info.

@Beau Locks: had you taken the time to peruse the fine material available from the Land Development Agency, you’d have saved yourself several hundred words.

Half the blocks are over 500m2, the roads have been aligned to encourage solar passive design, building envelopes leave at least 30% of the block undeveloped,, the major road is being put in first, there will be strip malls on the main street along with medium density housing, and there are plans for community gardens along with a pond to provide recycled water for maintaining parks and gardens.

Go to the LDA site and check there before ranting about lack of planning here, please?

I’ll give the greens the time of day AFTER they step up to the plate and take some responsibility.

If they come into a government (of either bent) as a coalition partner, then they can make whatever statements they want about their portfolio departments. Till then, they are no more (or less) valuable than an opposition, and deserve to get treated by the departments the same way.

I have heard about the woodland at Molonglo. Johnboy, your quiz and the topic are great for generating debate and discussion, so thankyou for that.

Box woodlands are pretty rare generally (mainly because across south-eastern Australia they have grown on either gold bearing geology or in places good for growing wheat, and therefore I’m not surprised if the Greens are kicking up a fuss.

You would think that having comprehensively buggered up Gungahlin, that either party would think far more carefully about building a whole new suburb with a lot more care. no, not this bunch. Both of our local major parties are on the nose as much as their Federal counterparts.

As the issue does concern me, I have looked up the following document in order to see what the current state of play is. It’s called (quite a mouthful):

Review of Environmental Studies
Undertaken to Inform the Preparation of:
National Capital Plan Draft Amendment 63,
Territory Plan Draft Variation 281,
Preliminary Assessment
Molonglo and North Weston

You can see it at: http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/downloads/planning_and_urban_design/amendments/A63/Draft%20Amendment63_Report_on_Consultation_Attch8_May2008.pdf

I refer Riot Act readers to the Executive Summary, and to pages 4 and 37 (especially the YBRGGW section), among the other concerns raised in submissions.

A big issue here is how the ACT Government (and other Governments) fail dismally at communicating issues like this to the public. Of course, if they want to push things through without publc scrutiny, then they are well aware that the public has little time to plough through reports like this one, let alone understand how or when to make submissions, etc.

Could it be that too many of us only act like Pavlov’s dogs – we act when the media tell us it’s important, and otherwise we presume if the media hasn’t picked up on it, it must just be a handful of zealots? Have we lost the ability to think for ourselves, regardless of the issue at stake?

Classic example of an argument from ignorance, good show.