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October 2011 Metropolitan Region Scheme Amendment 1203/41 Perth Waterfront Transcript of Hearings City of Perth Recording and Transcription This transcript is produced from live audio recordings. Whilst every care is taken in its preparation absolute accuracy cannot be guaranteed. No changes are made to grammar and syntax. Metropolitan Region Scheme Amendment 1203/41 Perth Waterfront Transcript of Hearings City of Perth October 2011 Disclaimer This document has been published by the Western Australian Planning Commission. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith and on the basis that the government, its employees and agents are not liable for any damage or loss whatsoever which may occur as a result of action taken or not taken, as the case may be, in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to herein. Professional advice should be obtained before applying the information contained in this document to particular circumstances. © State of Western Australia Internet: www.wa.gov.au Published by the Western Australian Planning Commission, 140 William Street, Perth WA 6000 Locked Bag 2506 Perth WA 6001 MRS Amendment 1203/41 Transcript of Hearings File 809-2-10-0008 Pt 3 Published October 2011 Internet: www.planning.wa.gov.au Email: [email protected] Phone: (08) 655 19000 Fax: (08) 655 19001 National Relay Service: 13 36 77 Infoline: 1800 626 477 This document is available in alternative formats on application to Communications Services. Introduction to Metropolitan Region Scheme major amendments The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is responsible for keeping the Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) under review and initiating changes where they are seen as necessary. The MRS sets out the broad pattern of land use for the whole Perth metropolitan region. The MRS is constantly under review to best reflect regional planning and development needs. A proposal to change land use reservations and zones in the MRS is regulated by the Planning and Development Act 2005. That legislation provides for public submissions to be made on proposed amendments. For a substantial amendment, often referred to as a major amendment (made under section 41 of the Act), the WAPC considers all the submissions lodged, and publishes its recommendations in a report on submissions. This report is presented to the Minister for Planning and to the Governor for approval. Both Houses of Parliament must then scrutinise the amendment before it can take legal effect. In the process of making a substantial amendment to the MRS, information is published as a public record under the following titles: Amendment report This document is available from the start of the public advertising period of the proposed amendment. It sets out the purpose and scope of the proposal, explains why the amendment is considered necessary, and informs people how they can comment through the submission process. Environmental review report The Environmental Protection Authority must consider the environmental impact of an amendment to the MRS before it can be advertised. Should it require formal assessment, an environmental review is undertaken and made available for information and comment at the same time as the amendment report. Report on submissions The planning rationale, determination of submissions and the recommendations of the WAPC for final approval of the amendment, with or without modification, is documented in this report. Submissions This document contains a reproduction of all written submissions received by the WAPC on the proposed amendment. Transcript of hearings A person who has made a written submission may also choose to appear before a hearings committee to express their views. The hearings proceedings are recorded and transcribed, and the transcripts of all hearings are reproduced in this volume. TRANSCRIPTS OF PUBLIC HEARINGS Day One Thursday 28 July 2011 MR PRATTLEY: Okay, can I declare this meeting of the Hearings Committee for the Perth Waterfront MRS amendment open and I also acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we are meeting and welcome my fellow Hearings Committee members. Can I just ask for confirmation that you have both had an opportunity to read and understand all the information we have got before us in these hearings? MR HICKS: Mr Chair, I have read and am fully across the documents before us. MR FERRARO: Mr Chair, I too have also. I have also read all the documents and all the submissions that have been provided. Thank you. MR PRATTLEY: And I would like to confirm that I have done so also. Thank you. We will now adjourn until we have the first submitters available to meet with us. 28.07.2011 1 Prattley Mr Nigel Shaw representing Himself MR PRATTLEY: Well, welcome. Thank you for your submission. The other members of the committee have confirmed that they have all had a chance to read and absorb the submission so this is really a chance to elaborate and add whatever you like. MR SHAW: Okay. MR PRATTLEY: You understand you have got about 20 minutes and - - - MR SHAW: Sure. MR PRATTLEY: Maybe 15 minutes or so to get yourselves right and five minutes to answer questions if we have any. MR SHAW: Sure. Yeah, look, I think I've probably only got about 10 minutes I would like - I wouldn't mind reading this, if I could. MR PRATTLEY: Yes, sure. MR SHAW: To the committee. It just clarifies, I think, where I'm coming from. By way of introduction, gentlemen, I was born in Perth in 1950 and have been a part of significant change, seen a lot of significant change in our city and metro area. I'm an architect, a planner, and former state and national president of the Australian Institute of Architects, and I have always, and I think the Chairman would concur that I've always, been an advocate for the positive benefits that appropriate change in particular to our built environment can bring. In this case, I believe that the vision for our city's relationship to the Swan River and its environs would be greatly enhanced if the boundaries for the amendment were extended to include all land from the freeway at the western edge to Langley Park in the east. The boundary extension could be considered now as part of this current process or as we proceed. The rationale behind this is to build the greatest possible flexibility into the proposal in order to achieve the best possible outcomes over a long period of time, and my reasons are as follows: One, if the freeway, road and associated rail systems need any modification to achieve best outcomes, then this should be allowed to occur without further rezoning. Two, similarly, part of the published rationale for the project involves consideration of Supreme Court Gardens as a substitute or replacement for The Esplanade and its various civic functions, so this should logically form part of the proposed amendment area. 28.07.2011 2 Shaw Three, in addition, enhancement proposals are under consideration, or have been under consideration, for the Concert Hall and the associated roads and carpark to the riverside of the current civic and cultural zoning. This area should again, in my opinion, form part of a larger area zoned special use/civic and cultural. Four, further to this , the civic heart of the city exists in the Treasury precinct, including the Town Hall and St George's Cathedral, Supreme Court, Council House, Government House, the Concert Hall and the Federal Courts. It is fitting that these icons of heritage, governance and culture are able to form part of a focussed acknowledgement of the river, where the pioneers first established the foundations of our city. Five, in this vicinity, the road systems servicing the proposed amendment area, in particular Riverside Drive east of Barrack Street, must all be allowed to change as required, which would or could occur under a special use zoning but perhaps not as easily under the current zoning of other regional roads and parks and recreation. Six, economically, and this is debatable, I guess, as all of these issues are, the high infrastructure costs associated with the inlet proposal could be spread over a much larger area of potential development scenarios. Seven, politically, a more extensive proposal puts all the cards on the table either in the short or longer term, providing a bigger frame for the painting of government's ideas. It also avoids the inevitable, inverted commas, sleights of hand, if you like, that become necessary at the edges of a defined area during the realisation/construction stage. That can cast a political cloud over the whole process and, pragmatically, eight, we should all understand that any so-called master plan is, or should be, a robust series of documents capable of change over time for economic, social and/or cultural reasons. Therefore, the greatest possible flexibility needs to be built into the rezoning process and the rezoned area. Finally, Mr Chairman, point nine, philosophically, I believe that we should be more than courageous and envision Perth as more of what it is and less of somewhere else. It is unique city, having a generous frontage to a significant river basin, where the river pauses informally on its way to the ocean. The city can acknowledge this in many ways and the scheme area needs to allow for as great a frontage to the river as possible. A planning and development scheme that provides the greatest flexibility and foresight will be embraced by generations of young people who currently can't quite understand why we hesitate to touch the water, one of the most basic of sensual experiences.