Greater Canberra strongly supports the Government’s legislation to fast-track planning approvals for public housing and public health facilities by removing the possibility of third-party ACAT appeals.

There are currently over 3,000 Canberrans on Housing ACT’s waiting list, with the average standard priority applicant waiting over 5 years for a public home. Everyone agrees that the Government needs to urgently deliver more public housing. This bill will accelerate the delivery of these much-needed homes at lower cost. Opponents of public housing use ACAT to hold up public housing for months and add tens of thousands of dollars in costs to the taxpayer. Every day a public housing project is delayed is a day that a vulnerable Canberran is left without secure housing.

According to statistics provided to the Assembly, since 2019, ACAT appeals have held up 133 public homes. These appeals disproportionately occur in wealthier, centrally located suburbs such as Griffith, Yarralumla and Turner. Canberra’s ‘salt and pepper’ public housing approach - where every part of the city is home to public housing - is directly challenged by these appeals that attempt to push public housing out of wealthy suburbs by simply making it too difficult and expensive for the ACT Government to persist.

We call on the Liberals, Greens and independents to pass this bill without delay. The evidence is clear: ACAT appeals are being used as a tool to concentrate disadvantage in outer suburbs and deny vulnerable Canberrans access to opportunity. This legislation represents a vital step toward a more equitable and inclusive Canberra. At our election forum last October, Liberal Shadow Minister for Planning and Housing Services Peter Cain indicated that the Opposition is open to reforming appeal rights: “Things that have an obvious social benefit … should deserve some sort of priority.” The Canberra Liberals have been calling for the fast-tracking of planning approvals and more public housing for quite some time, and should support this legislation.

With this legislation, public housing must still comply with the Territory Plan - it will simply be exempt from third party ACAT review, in the same way as almost all freestanding detached houses, or apartments in the Town Centres and Kingston Foreshore.

The government shouldn’t spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting appeals that push vulnerable Canberrans to the fringes of our city. Every ACAT appeal means months of delay and tens of thousands of dollars of additional costs to taxpayers - all to block homes for Canberrans who have been waiting years. ACAT appeals target public housing in our most accessible, well-serviced suburbs. This has to stop.

All members of the Legislative Assembly must support this common-sense reform and help create a more accessible, affordable Canberra for all.

The above statement is attributable to Howard Maclean, Convenor, Greater Canberra.

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About Greater Canberra

Greater Canberra is a community advocacy group committed to affordable and high-quality housing in Canberra. We believe in a future where housing is abundant, and where everyone can enjoy a more sustainable and liveable city. For more information, see https://greatercanberra.org.