Tourism Planning Taskforce Report - Western Australian Planning ...

Chapter 8Taskforce recommendationsGovernment Association and Tourism WA,with a view to the development of guidelinesto assist local government to respond to theissue effectively.8.4.3 Use of government managedlandThe taskforce has identified that there is animportant role for government-managed orowned land in the future development oftourism in the State, as many tourism iconsare located on such land and it includes alarge part of the State’s coastline.Government-managed land also has animportant role in the retention of a range oftourist accommodation with many low-keyaccommodation facilities currently located onsuch land. Recommendation 22 reflects theimportance of integrating tourism developmentacross an area with regard for private sectorand government requirements and seeks toensure these issues are considered bygovernment agencies.As the development pressure on coastal areasincreases, the role of government-managedland is envisaged to increase in terms of theprovision of sites for future tourismdevelopment. These sites also will play a rolein the retention of strategic tourismopportunities where demand conditions forsustainable tourism development are still to bereached.Recommendation 22:That the WAPC, LandCorp, CALM, DPI andlocal government note the important role forgovernment managed land in future tourismdevelopment in the State and be required tohave regard for this when preparingmanagement and development strategies andplans for these landholdings.Recommendation 23:That DPI, through its Crown Landadministration function take action to developand implement policies to ensure theidentification and appropriate protection ofgovernment-managed or owned strategictourist accommodation sites and caravanparks and camping grounds for tourismpurposes. Such a policy is to include theconsideration of conditional purchase optionsunder the Land Administration Act, leaseholdarrangements, and the use of Section 75conditional tenure, and only where this cannotbe achieved Section 15 covenants, to ensurethe land can be used only for its designatedpurpose. The nature of conditional freeholdand leasehold descriptions of use to also bespecific to the designated purpose of the land,eg caravan park and camping ground, touristresort, and to specify the nature of use of thesites. In this regard, specific considerationshall be given to the need for the maintenanceof adequate short-stay sites and limitations onthe development of permanent structures andpark homes on caravan parks.8.4.4 Corporations Act 2001In considering management requirements forsustainable tourism developments subject tostrata schemes, the taskforce has identifiedsignificant benefits where all units are part of acommon management and letting structure.Based on advice received on serviced strataschemes, the taskforce understands thatunder such an arrangement schemesgenerally would be considered managedinvestment schemes under the CorporationsAct 2001, and be subject to specificcompliance and reporting requirements.Various structures, such as unit lease-backwith fixed returns, schemes with not more than20 investors and schemes with an investmentprice of more than $500 000 are exempt fromthese particular requirements under ASICpolicy. The taskforce has; however notedsubmissions that common management andletting as required on strategic sites may makeparticular development structures unviable. Inassessing these competing interests, thetaskforce acknowledged the benefits ofcommon management in achieving successfultourism developments and the need to provideflexibility where possible to meet therequirements of various development andfinancing structures. The achievement ofmodifications to the Corporations Act 2001 toreduce the impost on serviced strata schemeswhile retaining investor protection was seenas a beneficial outcome for sustainabletourism development.86 Tourism Planning Taskforce Report