The issue

Central Canberra and the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin are poised to be developed with high rise and high density containing excessive residential and commercial space. Such detrimental development would be irreversible and permanent.

Four major amendments to the National Capital Plan formulated by the National Capital Authority (NCA) will come into force unless they are disallowed by Parliament on 10 May.

The Amendments contain no urban design controls to ensure quality urban landscapes and architecture, and show no regard for accepted principles of sustainable city planning.
The Walter Burley Griffin Society is concerned that Griffin’s name has been wrongly used to advance mediocre outcomes that will compromise Canberra forever.

Although called ‘The Griffin Legacy Amendments’, they fail to reflect Griffin’s ideals and intent for urban vitality, diversity, landscape design, sustainability nor a community friendly city. Instead the Amendments, if carried out, would perpetuate the Canberra syndrome of isolated buildings, and dominance of the car, and introduce large areas of high-rise buildings that would dominate the landscape of the ‘Bush Capital’.

Recent history

On 6 December 06, in a break with convention, the Amendments were tabled in both Houses of Parliament prior to the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital & External Territories (JSC) commencing its own inquiry.

On 23 February 07, the JSC held a roundtable public hearing into the four Amendments to the National Capital Plan proposed by the NCA. Senator Ross Lightfoot, the Chairman of that Committee stated that: “The Griffin Legacy amendments are some of the most significant and far-reaching changes to the National Capital Plan ever undertaken.”

On 22 March 07, the JSC Chairman Senator Lightfoot and his committee of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives published its 80-page report, including a recommendation that the Griffin Legacy Amendments be disallowed so that the NCA has the opportunity to refine the Amendments. As Senator Lightfoot stated “This fine tuning is necessary and in the interests of Canberra and the nation”.

On 28 March 07, the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, gave notice of motion that the four Amendments be disallowed. The motion is set to come before the Senate on 10 May.

Let the Senate know that you care about your National Capital and don’t want it damaged by these Amendments. Contact Senators and request their support for Senator Brown’s disallowance motion. Tell them that you support the recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee and that you want the NCA to refine the Amendments, and properly consult the community and experts.
Individual Senators can be identified for specific appeals and their email or other contacts obtained from www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/index.htm or just address to Parliament House, Canberra.

Key potential players include:

Senator Ross Lightfoot
Email: senator.lightfoot@aph.gov.au
Senator Kate Lundy
Email: senator.lundy@aph.gov.au
Senator Trish Crossin
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=7Y6
Senator Kim Carr
Email: senator.carr@aph.gov.au
Senator John Hogg
Email: senator.hogg@aph.gov.au
Senator Barnaby Joyce
Email: senator.joyce@aph.gov.au
Senator KerryO’Brien
Email: senator.obrien@aph.gov.au
Senator Nigel Scullion
Email: senator.scullion@aph.gov.au
Senator Natasha Stott Despoja
Email: senator.stottdespoja@aph.gov.au
Senator The Hon. John Faulkner
Email: senator.faulkner@aph.gov.au
Senator Steve Fielding
Email: senator.fielding@aph.gov.au
Senator Andrew Bartlett
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=DT6
Senator Lyn Allison
Email: senator.allison@aph.gov.au
Senator Gary Humphries
Email: senator.humphries@aph.gov.au
Senator Kerry Nettle
Email: senator.nettle@aph.gov.au
Senator Marise Payne
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=M56
Senator The Hon Brett Mason
Email: senator.mason@aph.gov.au
Senator Penny Wong
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=00AOU
Senator Christine Milne
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=ka5
Senator The Hon Rod Kemp
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=WW4
Senator Robert Ray
Email: senator.ray@aph.gov.au
Senator The Hon Kay Patterson
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=LI4
Senator Chris Evans
Email: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/homepages/contact.asp?id=AX5

Further information

News Update No 45 April 2007, the newsletter of the Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc
NewsUpdate45.pdf (404KB)
Executive Summary of the Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc’s submission to the JSC
Executive summary.pdf (248KB)
Walter Burley Griffin Society Inc’s submission to the JSC
www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ncet/Griffin/subs/sub1.pdf (2,779KB)
Proof Committee Hansard of JSC roundtable on Griffin Legacy Amendments, 23 February 2007, Canberra
www.aph.gov.au/hansard/joint/commttee/J10021.pdf (568KB)