Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

LDA was praised for its central role in supporting the Government’s housing affordabilityagenda through innovative products like “Own Place” and land rent.The Review has concluded that while it is entirely appropriate for the Government to sellland, to develop land itself and/or to enter into joint ventures, the separate LDA commercialstructure is no longer warranted. The LDA should be abolished and its functions and staffabsorbed into the Economic Development Directorate. In this context, one contributor to theReview noted that the size of the current land release program and the required relationshipsinherent in delivering the program might be better served by a structure that can respondmore quickly to the Government’s priorities.The LDA Board might continue, but in an advisory capacity. It was argued during theReview that a Board structure is better suited to an environment where the entity is solelyfocussed on commercial activities and the portfolio department is not required to manage orinfluence the outcomes and relationships across Government. Replacing the LDA Boardwith an advisory board eliminates the potential conflicts between the fiduciary duties of thegoverning board and the public sector roles and accountabilities of officials. The currentarrangements are neither fully commercial nor fully integrated within the ACTPS. As such,they create uncertainty and risk failings of governance and accountability.ACT Planning and Land AuthorityACTPLA performs a number of statutory roles, including development assessment andapproval under the Planning and Development Act (2007). As well as being a statutoryregulatory agency for the purpose of development assessment, land administration andbuilding control it also oversees the development and implementation of government policyaround land use. It has an integral role in the work of service agencies whose operations havespatial implications, reflected in its administration of the ACT’s land information system.Due to the unique circumstances of the ACT, land use planning and development take on amuch greater role in the ACT Government and ACTPS than in their state counterparts.ACTPLA was created in 2003 to establish a strategic planning and development assessmentcapacity that, where necessary, would be at arm’s length from the Government for thepurpose of making certain statutory decisions. The alignment of ACTPLA’s work and thecontribution of other elements of the ACTPS that are responsible for planning anddevelopment related legislation and policy behind commonly understood Governmentpolicies and priorities, is central to the success of the Government and the ACTPS in movingfrom the broadest level of strategic planning to the realisation of outcomes on the ground.Consultations revealed a shared belief that this necessary alignment and coherence of actionacross the ACTPS has been diluted, if not lost in fragmentation of roles and responsibilities.A common refrain was that the ACT should be taking advantage of its uniqueness tostreamline and align planning related decision-making, including through a reduction in thenumber of agencies and ministries with “fingers in the pie”.Administrative Arrangements Changes: 182