Illawarra Electorate Land Development
ILLAWARRA ELECTORATE LAND DEVELOPMENT
Mr RUMBLE (Illawarra) [5.33]: I refer to the servicing of light industrial land at Kembla Grange and the overall development of land at West Dapto. It is necessary that the land at Kembla Grange that has been set aside for light industry be serviced as soon as possible. The Illawarra region has a large number of people unable to find employment, and the availability of serviced land would provide an opportunity for the establishment of light and high-tech industries at Kembla Grange. Wollongong City Council is of the opinion that West Dapto offers a visionary opportunity to dramatically alter the management framework and alternate governance of urban development. Planning success for West Dapto will be judged on the utility of systems created to plan, deliver, occupy and administer residential land and complementary land-use activities.
Nowhere else in the Illawarra region or the greater Sydney metropolitan area - or for that matter within Australia - is there such an opportunity to develop land so close in proximity to a capital city as there is at West Dapto. West Dapto offers opportunities for economically viable and environmentally responsible sewage treatment and dual water supply systems; delivery of stormwater and urban run-off management systems to improve the quality of water in a degraded catchment; an integrated transport system which creates a distinct bias towards public transport, reducing the need for car dependence; a neighbourhood living environment which is supportive of community responsibility; a dramatic reduction in the cost of land delivery and ongoing management; opportunities to repair and enhance land through the creation of urban forests and wildlife corridors which link the wilderness of the Illawarra escarpment to the enhanced vegetated shores of Lake Illawarra; and, community responsibility for planning involvement and shared governance of essential community facilities.
Wollongong City Council has, through persistence, made grinding steps forward in dealing with relevant government agencies such as Sydney Water, the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning and the Environment Protection Authority. This has taken an extraordinary length of time and considerable discussion. Sydney Water has formally advised Wollongong City Council that it will provide limited funds and assistance. The Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, in a letter to me dated 10 April 1996, stated:
. . . that the two key issues regarding the future development of West Dapto are the potential effect of any sewerage scheme on the catchment of Lake Illawarra and the funding of necessary sewerage infrastructure.
I consider that there is a need for a co-ordinated approach to planning and development of West Dapto. It is for this reason that I have decided to establish the taskforce. The taskforce is to be chaired by Dr Joan Vipond, Acting Assistant Director-General of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning. Senior representatives of the Environment Protection Authority, the Roads and Traffic Authority, Sydney Water and the General Manager of Wollongong City Council will be invited to be part of the taskforce. Its main objective will be to oversee the completion of the environmental studies and to advise on the funding for infrastructure in the context of projected needs and demands for housing in the region.
West Dapto is the last remaining area in the Illawarra region where single-dwelling homes can be built. Because of the escarpment, land available for residential use is gradually being built out. Even though a lot of planning has gone into that area, a coordinated approach is necessary for the successful completion of the development. Also, unemployment in the Illawarra region has not recovered since 1982 when the BHP steelworks retrenched more than 10,000 people. Obviously there is a need to attract light industry and high-tech industry to that region to ease unemployment. [Time expired.]
Mr KNOWLES (Moorebank - Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, and Minister for Housing) [5.38]: I congratulate the honourable member for Illawarra for his continuing and vigorous pursuit of the West Dapto and Kembla Grange release. I recognise, as he does, the
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enormous potential for investment, growth and consequential resulting jobs growth. It is correct that in an attempt to have a coordinated approach to the resolution of a number of outstanding issues I have convened a task force chaired by a senior official of the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Dr Joan Vipond. I advise the honourable member for Illawarra that Dr Vipond is clear about the Government's intentions with regard to West Dapto and she is expediting the necessary work plans that the member outlined.
I assure the honourable member for Illawarra and the members of the Wollongong City Council, who have taken a long-standing interest in this matter, that the Government will work with local communities and the local council with regard to the considerable amount of work required to be undertaken to deal with the environmental impact of the proposed release and the economic analysis with regard to waste water management and an integrated transport system. The Government will ensure that when this release proceeds it will proceed properly, in a coordinated fashion, to ensure that the jobs and investment potential that can be realised at West Dapto is properly maximised.