About the project
On 5 December 2018, the ACT Government released the 2018 ACT Planning Strategy.
The Strategy delivers a planning vision for the Territory that continues to provide for Canberra's growth and prosperity and retain the valued landscape character.
The new strategy incorporates progress made on key Government priorities, such as achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT by 2045, providing increased housing choice and affordability, and delivering improved and integrated public transport and active travel.
The ACT Government took an innovative engagement approach to the refresh and undertook a range of activities to capture the interest and feedback of the community. This included online activities, speaker events, focused working sessions, planning in the pub sessions and also provided information online to assist those wanting to make a submission. This new approach included circulating the base information and proposed strategic directions ahead of some engagement activities. Participants had the opportunity - both online and at consultation activities - to respond to material in practical planning ways to help inform and develop the final themes, directions and actions.
A summary of previous ACT Government engagement outcomes relevant to planning was also published to provide background and to support the proposed directions. This provided an opportunity early in the engagement to not only acknowledge the substantial amount of feedback from the community and stakeholders on a range of related matters in the previous years, but to test that what had been heard would still be current in the context of the Refresh.
How you had YourSay
Over 13 weeks from 19 June to 14 September, 2018, the ACT Government worked with 640 members of the Canberra community and industry stakeholders in a range of engagement activities.
Most notably, an interactive live stream option was trialled as part of the Speaker Series to reach those who were interested in the event but could not attend in person. Mums, dads, students, those who found it difficult to travel (or even those who just didn’t want to head out in the Canberra winter!) could watch and ask questions during the sessions from the convenience of their preferred location.
Engagement activities included:
- Quick Poll on Your Say – 911 votes
- Speaker Series, including a live stream option – more than 500
- Workshops - 90
- Planning in the Pub sessions – 50
- Stakeholder updates
- The ACT community has also been able to provide written submissions
Various events were attended by ACT government staff involved in the project including the EPSDD Director General, Deputy-Directors General, Executive Directors, Transport Canberra and City Services, the climate change policy team, housing policy team and senior planners.
Click on the tabs above to read the outcome reports from each engagement.
How you contributed
Community voice has been key to the Planning Strategy Refresh engagement. While the Refresh is underpinned by research and evidence, the ideas and actions that emerged from these interactions helped drive and inform the document and directions.
In developing the 2018 ACT Planning Strategy, the ACT Government considered the outcomes from the engagement along with outcomes of other key government consultations, including on housing choices, climate change and transport.
The 2018 ACT Planning Strategy can be found at www.act.gov.au/planningstrategy.
Speaker Series
The Planning Strategy Refresh Speaker Series was held over three evening sessions in late June and early July. Canberra residents joined industry and community group representatives to enrich local planning conversations, consider how key policies interlink and explore the realms of possibilities as presented by each visionary speaker.
The events were TEDx-style presentations from national and international thought leaders, followed by Q&A sessions with audience members both in attendance and watching live.
You can watch the evenings as they unfolded by viewing the video on demand, see a visual representation of the conversation drawn by a live scribe, and read the conversation tracker below.Speaker Session 1: Car city or clean transport capital?
Speaker Session 1 - video recording
The first session of the ACT Planning Strategy Refresh Speaker Series was held in Canberra on Thursday 28 June 2018. A recording of the live stream is available below.
Speaker Session 1 - conversation in images
A live scribe attended the event to record the conversation in as it unfolded. See the results of that artwork below.
Speaker session 1 - conversation tracker
A conversation tracker was prepared to provide an overview of the evening and highlight key messages.
Speaker Session 2: Garden city or city in a garden?
Speaker session 2 - video recording
The second session of the ACT Planning Strategy Refresh Speaker Series was held in Canberra on Thursday 5 July 2018. A recording of the live stream is available below.
Speaker Session 2 - conversation in images
A live scribe attended the event to record the conversation in as it unfolded. See the results of that artwork below.
Speaker Session 2 - conversation tracker
A conversation tracker was prepared to provide an overview of the evening and highlight key messages.
Speaker Session 3: Bush Capital and global city: getting the balance right
Speaker Session 3 - video recording
The third session of the ACT Planning Strategy Refresh Speaker Series was held in Canberra on Tuesday 10 July 2018. A recording of the live stream is available below.
Speaker Session 3 - conversation in images
A live scribe attended the event to record the conversation in as it unfolded. See the results of that artwork below.
Speaker Session 3 - conversation tracker
A conversation tracker was prepared to provide an overview of the evening and highlight key messages.
Workshops
Over three nights from 14-16 August 2018, Canberra residents, industry stakeholders, academics and young planners joined together to workshop practical planning ideas for Canberra’s future. The sessions were focused on specific questions around key planning themes integrated with transport, climate change and housing influences.
The workshop report and information papers for each session are available below.
Workshop 1: Planning for a compact and efficient city - Background paper
Workshop 2: Planning for a diverse and sustainable Canberra - Background paper
Workshop 3: Planning for a liveable and accessible Canberra - Background paper
Planning in the Pub
The conversation
Planning in the Pub conversations were held from 6.00-7.30pm in Gungahlin on Thursday 6 September and Weston on Tuesday 11 September 2018.
The events concluded 13 weeks of engagement activities, including an online poll, Speaker Series, workshops, stakeholder meetings and written submissions.
The conversations were an opportunity for Government Ministers, MLAs, planners and policy makers, and the community to come together and reflect on what was heard in previous years and throughout the engagement and discuss how it could inform the new strategy.
Who engaged
The Planning in the Pub conversations were co-hosted with the ACT Young Planners Committee, which offered valuable insight into how the direction of the strategy could respond to the needs of our future residents, businesses and visitors.
Approximately 50 people attended the Planning in the Pub sessions, spanning many demographic groups, industry sectors, community groups, planners and Canberra residents.
The events were also attended by ACT Planning Minister Mick Gentleman MLA, Minister Chris Steel MLA, Suzanne Orr MLA and Bec Cody MLA. As observed at each of the engagements, the conversation was dynamic and respectfully represented a diverse set of views among participants about what the future of Canberra should and could look like in the future.
Read the full Listening Report below.
