ACT election 2020: Libs plan for urban infill without 'destroying' suburbs' character

Opposition planning spokesman Mark Parton has also confirmed that a Liberal government would adopt all of the recommendations of the Shergold Weir building quality report, including the introduction of licensing requirements for more construction trades.

Labor said it had already agreed in principle to the review, and in government had implemented, in part or in full, 15 of the 20 recommendations which applied to the territory.

Mr Parton provided the first details on the Liberals' planning policy at an election forum hosted by the Property Council and Master Builders Association of the ACT late last week.

He confirmed that a Liberal government would extend the special subdivision rules permitted on Mr Fluffy properties to more blocks in residential zones.

Introduced in 2016, the special provision allow for Mr Fluffy blocks which are larger than 700 square metres to be subdivided and sold off separately. Under normal rules in RZ1 zones, dual occupancies are only allowed on blocks greater than 800 square metres.

The provision, which was designed to maximize sale prices for owners of the contaminated blocks, was seen by the property industry as an opportunity to gauge Canberra's appetite for subdivisions in the suburbs.

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The Canberra Liberals have in the past four years signalled their ambition to expand the provision if elected in 2020, with Mr Parton's announcement last week confirming that intention.

Mr Parton said the provision would be offered to a "stack" of RZ1 blocks, although he said the finer details were still being thrashed out.

The Brindabella MLA said the the policy was born from conversations he'd had with elderly residents in Wanniassa Hills, who wanted to downsize from their large homes without having to leave the area.

Mr Parton said the policy would "create urban infill ... without destroying the character of the suburbs".

The proposal would complement the Liberals' primary planning policy, which is to release more greenfield land for detached housing.

The Labor government's 2018 planning strategy flagged the option of allowing dual occupancy in residential areas, as part of a wider urban infill push.

But Planning Minister Mick Gentleman was noncommittal when asked about the idea at last week's forum.

"I think we need to step through this very carefully," Mr Gentleman said.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't look at RZ1 and areas like that, but we need to be careful because it is the reason that we had the Garden City variation in the first place. Dual occupancies were just popping up after an application was approved ... and the general population were very upset about it.

"Whatever way we go forward in that sense, I'm not saying that it's out of scope. But it's something that we need to be very careful about."

At the same event, Mr Parton revealed that a Coe Liberal government would adopt all 24 recommendations from the 2018 Shergold Weir report on regulation in Australia's building industry.

The review recommended that more professions be subject to licensing regimes, including architects and engineers, as well improvements for industry training, building inspection regimes and collection and sharing of information.

The Master Builders Association of the ACT has been leading calls for the adoption of the recommendations, which it believes provides a blueprint for raising the standard of building quality in the nation's capital.

Despite Mr Parton's public declaration of support for the review's recommendations, Labor building minister Gordon Ramsay accused the Liberals of obfuscation on the issue.

He said a re-elected Labor government would continue to implement its package of building reforms to ensure "Canberrans had the highest-quality homes, built by the highest-quality builders".