Released 28/07/2018
Following three months of in-depth work by participants, Minister for Planning and Land Management Mick Gentleman today received the recommendations from the Housing Choices Collaboration Hub about different ways of meeting our city’s housing needs.
“Over five sessions, members of our community were directly involved in the Collaboration Hub. Through their participation in a deliberative democracy process, they shared their views to examine our growing city and consider housing choices in particular,” Minister Gentleman said.
Participants shared their thoughts and viewpoints on topics about planning, housing and development in the ACT. The Collaboration Hub sessions included a range of experts from across industry and government to support discussions and deliberations on ideas, challenges and opportunities.
“This has been a new and bespoke engagement process that provided a genuine opportunity for a wide cross section of the community to bring their own perspectives and ideas to the table,” Minister Gentleman said.
“The topics of discussion have included housing types, housing affordability and land use zoning. It was great to see the energy and commitment from the participants. Their input will now influence the options the government takes forward for future planning and development,” Minister Gentleman said.
In March invitations to participate in the Collaboration Hub were sent to approximately 15,000 randomly selected households. Of those that responded, 38 were selected independent of government by newDemocracy Foundation to form a broad and representative cross-section of Canberrans.
“There is no one right answer to the question of how we meet our future housing needs,” Minister Gentleman said.
“This has been a genuine opportunity for the citizens of Canberra to influence future housing choices and planning and development in our city. The Hub has presented me with a report of their recommendations. Government will now consider the Collaboration Hub’s recommendations and present a formal response in the coming months.”
The Collaboration Hub is another example of the government’s commitment to strengthening community engagement. More information is available at https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/housing-choices
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Mick Gentleman, MLA | Media Releases