Article: Capital city planning at 'watershed point'

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Capital city planning at 'watershed point'

Capital city planning at 'watershed point'
April 2, 2012 - 6:19AM

Government planning systems in southeast Queensland are too focused on infrastructure at the expense of demographic change, future productivity and global competitiveness, according to an expert panel.

Today, the COAG Reform Council has publicly issued its two-year report card on capital city strategic planning systems.

Brisbane was assessed as part of the wider southeast Queensland region, which takes in the Gold and Sunshine coasts, Ipswich, the Lockyer Valley, Toowoomba, the Scenic Rim and the Moreton Bay and Redlands regions.

Government planning systems in southeast Queensland are too focused on infrastructure at the expense of demographic change, future productivity and global competitiveness, according to an expert panel.

Today, the COAG Reform Council has publicly issued its two-year report card on capital city strategic planning systems.

Brisbane was assessed as part of the wider southeast Queensland region, which takes in the Gold and Sunshine coasts, Ipswich, the Lockyer Valley, Toowoomba, the Scenic Rim and the Moreton Bay and Redlands regions.
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The region was found lacking in four key areas.

The council review panel, including former deputy prime minister Brian Howe and former Sydney lord mayor Lucy Turnbull, praised the region's planning for population growth and infrastructure.

"This includes efficient development and use of existing and new infrastructure and development of major urban corridors," the report read.

But the panel found the region's planning system dealt "less convincingly" with demographic change, which it said had implications for the nature, distribution and diversity of housing stock and labour market participation.

"Queensland also shows strong policy content and process for most issues that relate to infrastructure," the report read.

"But not all of the policy issues are addressed with the same degree of rigour.

"Demographic change; productivity and global competitiveness and connectivity of people to jobs and business to markets are not analysed to the same degree and are not supported by programs of evaluation and review."

The planning system was found to be most lacking in performance measurement and public reporting, the panel discovered.

"For example, a set of performance indicators that are clearly linked to the goals and outcomes of the [South East Queensland] Regional Plan is yet to be developed," the report said.

"The mechanisms employed by government to meet consultation requirements focus on providing information rather than active participation of stakeholders in setting the vision, plan-making and implementation."

The region was assessed according to nine criteria set by the Council of Australian Governments' council, but southeast Queensland scored only "partially consistent" in investment and innovation; urban design and architecture; performance measures; and consultation and engagement.

The council has made a number of recommendations regarding the need for governments to engage more with community, businesses and other stakeholders; focus more on implementing plans and getting results in cities; and consider ways to improve investment and innovation by the private sector.

Chairman of the COAG Reform Council, Paul McClintock, said Australia was at a "watershed point" for capital cities and their strategic planning.

Governments needed to better bring together different aspects of their city planning.

"Just like you can't solve a Rubik's cube one side at a time, you can't deal with land use, infrastructure and economic development separately," he said.

"The council found both strengths and weaknesses in the long-term planning of each capital city.

"Our report found that while governments have shown strong commitment to improve their planning systems, none of their systems are entirely consistent with COAG's agreed criteria to re-shape our capital cities."

The council submitted its review to Council of Australian Governments on December 23, but the report was not issued publicly until today.

COAG is expected to respond to the council's review by June.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/capital-city-planning-at-watershed-point-20120402-1w72y.html

[Stillwater]

"Queensland shows strong policy content and process for most issues that relate to infrastructure, but not all policy issues are addressed with the same degree of rigour.  Performance indicators clearly linked to the goals and outcomes of the [South East Queensland] Regional Plan are yet to be developed.  Mechanisms employed by government to meet consultation requirements focus on providing information rather than active participation of stakeholders in setting the vision, plan-making and implementation."

Means:

Queensland has the glossy brochures that articulate a policy, but fails to deliver on that policy and won't develop targets against funding and a timeline for fear of being caught out, or not achieving the targets set.

Consultation is skewed towards weeding out the troublemaker objectors, or groups, in order to neutralise their arguments.  Government is not listening to the people, but merely wishes to impose on them.

[SurfRail]

What I take away from this is that we know how to build stuff, but we don't use it properly to support actual goals beyond "let's build this" (like improving PT mode share, making the city more competitive internationally by actually improving services once stuff is in place etc).

Really supports what we have been saying all along about new railways that only run every 30 minutes!