Ms O’CONNOR question to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE and TRANSPORT, Mr VINCENT
The Australian National Climate Risk Assessment report 2025, which had to be squeezed out of the Albanese Government, which sat on it for a year, puts down a challenge to us all in terms of climate risk. As minister for Housing and Planning, I point you to the introduction which says:
Outer urban areas of cities stand out as watch points. These areas are particularly susceptible to adverse impacts because of their circumstances, location demographics, proneness to hazards including, for example, bush fire.
Your government has a policy of extending the urban growth boundary rather than providing for more medium density in cities and towns. My first question to you is: have you asked for a briefing on the climate change risk assessment report, given it touches on all of your portfolios? Secondly, would you please consider the advice that is given in this report when you are next briefed on plans to extend the urban growth boundary, which could put communities at risk in the future.
ANSWER
Mr President, I thank the member for the question. I have not been briefed on that full report at all yet, but I will seek some further information. If I can swing back to putting my mayoral hat back on, part of one of those regional areas being Sorell, we were obligated by legislation to bring down flood mapping. That is done on a regular basis as subdivisions go in, so it’s updated probably not annually, but every couple of years as well.
I’m well aware of the pressures on some of those points that you raised in your question. I’m happy to take a little bit more advice on that. We are discussing strengthening medium and higher density in as many areas we can. I am doing a fair bit of work on that with the State Planning Office as we speak.
Ms O’Connor – Great. I’ll come back to you with a few more questions. That’s good.
