Federal cabinet has agreed to significantly curtail the power of the National Capital Authority over planning in parts of Canberra, signing off a proposal to scrap the authority's control over the Molonglo and Murrumbidgee River corridors, Namadgi National Park and the Tuggeranong Valley.
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The change was pushed by ACT Senator Zed Seselja, who wants residential development to the west of the Tuggeranong town centre, across the Murrumbidgee River.
The overhaul will go to the ACT government in May and to the public for comment in June.
Details have not been released, but Senator Seselja said the National Capital Authority would retain control over the parliamentary triangle, major approach routes, and central parts of the city - areas to do with the "national character" of Canberra. But it would no longer have a say over development in more distant parts of the city, nor over areas such as Namadgi.
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The river corridors and the national park had come under the authority to date because they "definednational capital" and to avoid inappropriate development in areas of environmental significance or elevation - the hills, ridges and ranges. But the ACT government was a mature government with the ability to make its own environmental assessments and decisions about
The authority would retain control over the prominent hills, ridges and mountains in the inner city, including Mount Majura.
Mr Snow said the National Capital Plan was cumbersome and not user friendly. This was its first significant review, resulting in a more accessible document and more streamlined planning. It would be well received by developers, especially, for whom confusion and costs added to the planning burden, he said.
The overview also says it will allow "deregulation activities such as the self-assessment of development proposals by property owners, should this be supported by the ACT government", but does not explain what is envisaged. Mr Snow said that proposal would probably be part of "phase two" of reform.
In a joint statement with Senator Seselja, Regional Development Minister Jamie Briggs said the change was "common sense", allowing the ACT to get on with "day-to-day planning for Canberra's long-term growth and economic development".
It would allow the authority to focus on its core job: promoting Canberra and looking after the parliamentary triangle and nationally significant sites.
In June last year, then planning minister Simon Corbell was taken by surprise to hear the authority had begun a review of Senator Seselja's Tuggeranong proposal without informing the ACT government.
