Territory Planning Authority
terrplan@act.gov.au

Re. Draft Plan Amendment 14 – Belconnen green waste recycling facility and bulk landscape supplies

Friends of Grasslands (FOG) is a community group dedicated to the conservation of grassy ecosystems in south-eastern Australia - natural temperate grasslands and grassy woodlands. FOG advocates, educates and advises on matters to do with the conservation of these ecosystems, and carries out surveys and on-ground work. FOG is based in Canberra and its members include professional scientists, landowners, land managers and interested members of the public.

FOG has read the Draft Plan Amendment documents, and the submission by the Conservation Council ACT Region.[1] In making this comment we draw on both sources. We accept Block 1653 Belconnen per se has no remnant grassy ecosystem values. Normally, that would mean FOG would not comment; however, in this case, we see Block 1653 lies in the middle of Central Molonglo which is known to have extensive 'potential threatened woodland', much of which is likely to be protected under national environmental law.

Given that, it does seem premature to enable the assessment of a green waste facility on Block 1653 without visibility of the plan for the rest of Central Molonglo. This appears out of step with the ACT Government’s commitments to plan at the landscape scale.

At the whole of north Canberra scale, we note that this is an urban-industrial facility we would expect to see in an urban-industrial setting on the east side of Canberra, not in the middle of grassy woodlands upwind of Hawker and Whitlam.

In future consultation processes, FOG encourages you to make accessible to the public information that is consistent with the 'principles of good consultation' found in s 11 of the Planning Act 2023. Against that benchmark, the information provided in DPA-14 is incomplete and difficult to follow.

Yours sincerely

SIGNED

Professor Jamie Pittock

President, Friends of Grasslands

20 July 2026

[1] https://conservationcouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Conservation-Council-Submission-on-DPA-14.pdf