Mr BALCH - 1999-10-14
Over the last 12 months, there have been a series of consultations with community feedback regarding the area bounded by Freshwater Road, McMillans Road and Rapid Creek Road in that section of Rapid Creek shared by my electorate of Jingili and that of the member for Millner. Can the minister inform the House where are we at with the Rapid Creek land-use objectives process?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker,I know the member for Jingili has a very keen interest in this issue, as have other local members in the area, particularly the member for Millner. The Rapid Creek land-use objectives process is, I believe, another good example of this government’s strongly consultative approach to the community and, certainly, the strong involvement of local members in that consultation program.
In May 1998, the government announced that it would prepare land-use objectives for the Rapid Creek area. Following on from that, an issues paper was distributed in September 1998 and a series of focus workshops were carried out with interested community groups and individuals. Quite a number of written submissions were received from interested people as well. All of the issues raised in that preliminary public consultation process have been considered in the development of the land-use policies that are now out on exhibition, as the member for Jingili has said. The public comment period formally commenced on the 1st of this month and will last for 28 days, and I know a number of meetings are going on in regard to that.
It is a very sensitive area, a great waterway that Darwinites are certainly very familiar with, and that’s the Rapid Creek area. The major objectives are protection of the Rapid Creek system and a corridor for controlling future development from the adjoining rural areas and living rural allotments along that very sensitive creek area, promotion of the conservation of the remnant vegetation throughout the Rapid Creek catchment area, and the rehabilitation of that creek corridor. Importantly, it’s worth noting that a 30-metre-wide strip of land at the interface of the rural living zone and the creek itself is intended to be rezoned O3 for conservation and to allow for the rehabilitation of the creek corridor in accordance with what is proposed in the Rapid Creek LUOs.
As I said, those LUOs are out there now for public comment. Copies of the documents are available all over the place, including from the Darwin offices of the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, the Darwin City Council offices and the offices of the member for Jingili and the member for Millner. Also, for those interested - and I know there are a lot of people interested in this - the local members in conjunction with my department have organised a public meeting to discuss the issues contained within the land-use objectives. That will take place this Sunday morning at 10.30 at the Water Gardens, adjacent to Rapid Creek.
I know all of the residents have been letterbox-dropped by the local members – good, responsive, active local members in the community, unlike those opposite. You never hear of them working to assist in public consultation. They waltz in at the end when they’ve seen which way the wind is blowing. We have to thank the local members for their pro-active stance on this issue, particularly.
The meeting will place on display those proposals contained within the LUOs. I will have Lands, Planning and Environment officers there to ensure that the public is well informed. The local members will be attending and they’ll take on board further comments in the process.
At the end of the public consultation process, once those public comments have been assessed, the LUOs can be gazetted and the good land-use policy of this government, involving good forward planning, can be implemented for the benefit of all Territorians.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker,I know the member for Jingili has a very keen interest in this issue, as have other local members in the area, particularly the member for Millner. The Rapid Creek land-use objectives process is, I believe, another good example of this government’s strongly consultative approach to the community and, certainly, the strong involvement of local members in that consultation program.
In May 1998, the government announced that it would prepare land-use objectives for the Rapid Creek area. Following on from that, an issues paper was distributed in September 1998 and a series of focus workshops were carried out with interested community groups and individuals. Quite a number of written submissions were received from interested people as well. All of the issues raised in that preliminary public consultation process have been considered in the development of the land-use policies that are now out on exhibition, as the member for Jingili has said. The public comment period formally commenced on the 1st of this month and will last for 28 days, and I know a number of meetings are going on in regard to that.
It is a very sensitive area, a great waterway that Darwinites are certainly very familiar with, and that’s the Rapid Creek area. The major objectives are protection of the Rapid Creek system and a corridor for controlling future development from the adjoining rural areas and living rural allotments along that very sensitive creek area, promotion of the conservation of the remnant vegetation throughout the Rapid Creek catchment area, and the rehabilitation of that creek corridor. Importantly, it’s worth noting that a 30-metre-wide strip of land at the interface of the rural living zone and the creek itself is intended to be rezoned O3 for conservation and to allow for the rehabilitation of the creek corridor in accordance with what is proposed in the Rapid Creek LUOs.
As I said, those LUOs are out there now for public comment. Copies of the documents are available all over the place, including from the Darwin offices of the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, the Darwin City Council offices and the offices of the member for Jingili and the member for Millner. Also, for those interested - and I know there are a lot of people interested in this - the local members in conjunction with my department have organised a public meeting to discuss the issues contained within the land-use objectives. That will take place this Sunday morning at 10.30 at the Water Gardens, adjacent to Rapid Creek.
I know all of the residents have been letterbox-dropped by the local members – good, responsive, active local members in the community, unlike those opposite. You never hear of them working to assist in public consultation. They waltz in at the end when they’ve seen which way the wind is blowing. We have to thank the local members for their pro-active stance on this issue, particularly.
The meeting will place on display those proposals contained within the LUOs. I will have Lands, Planning and Environment officers there to ensure that the public is well informed. The local members will be attending and they’ll take on board further comments in the process.
At the end of the public consultation process, once those public comments have been assessed, the LUOs can be gazetted and the good land-use policy of this government, involving good forward planning, can be implemented for the benefit of all Territorians.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016