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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To improve the liveability of Tasmanian settlements for citizens by promoting efficient and sustainable housing that is sensitive to local environmental and cultural contexts.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• development of sustainable housing and 'green' buildings are encouraged for Tasmania through incentives and protocols drawing on national initiatives such as those promoted by the Green Building Council of Australia and the Australian Greenhouse Office;
   
• water sensitive urban design principles are incorporated into housing guidelines;
   
• public housing is integrated with the community and established infrastructure, services and amenities through promoting mixed use around established settlement nodes (including the inner-cities);
   
• rental affordability is monitored and opportunities to promote investment in rental housing stock are investigated;
   
• design of appropriate housing stock and flexible tenancy solutions is promoted to better reflect changes in demographic factors including housing occupancy; and
   
• a statutory requirement is established to consider Tascord in the preparation of planning schemes, planning scheme amendments, and planning decisions relating to residential development.
   

Key issues

The urban environment is important because settlements are 'the environment' for their citizens and most people interact with the environment through an urban setting. The state of the urban environment influences the quality of life and the sense of place that people and visitors to the State appreciate. Settlements also affect most aspects of environmental condition described in this SoE Report through their footprint on land, habitat, water and air.

Sustainable housing is multi-faceted. However improvements in countless small decisions about how we use land and construct buildings can have significant and long-term benefits for the environment. Given the building life of dwellings constructed today, decisions made today will continue to influence the environmental performance of settlements (and the quality of life experienced by those who live in them) well into the future.

Sustainable housing involves identifying hazards to people and to the environment, then identifying opportunities to use land and resources as efficiently as possible. In the context of growing demand for housing in Tasmania, sustainable housing has significant potential to influence living standards and environmental outcomes for the better.

Links to each of the related Issue Reports are provided below and in the table of related issues. Because settlements impact on many aspects of the environment, some of the following links are to chapters, other than Settlements. Findings from the 'At a glance' sections include:

• Adapting Coastal Settlements to Climate Change: Some settlements in low lying coastal areas are vulnerable to storm events that may have a greater frequency and intensity because of climate change. Without adequate information, new developments in vulnerable areas may be placed in the line of harm. This can be avoided by appropriate risk management measures. Research has been proposed, which will help monitor the physical changes to Tasmania's coastline. These changes can be compared with the expected changes resulting from the climate change models for Tasmania.
   
• Energy Sources and Use: Energy efficient housing design contributes to conservation of domestic related energy use. Directions for sustainable housing are provided in the Victorian Government's introduction of five-star energy standards for houses, including the requirement for new dwellings to provide solar hot water or rainwater tanks under new building regulations to be introduced by 2005. With similar climatic requirements to Tasmania, all residential properties in the ACT are required to have a 'star' energy efficiency rating prior to being offered for sale. All residential properties being constructed have a minimum requirement for energy efficiency (ACTPLA 2003).
   
• Particulate Pollution: Energy efficient housing is one way to reduce reliance on some forms of heating that have undesirable environmental and health consequences. Particulate pollution is the major air quality issue for Tasmania. Large and small particles transported through the air can affect human health, cause damage to property and contaminate soil and water.
   
• Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: Climate change is now implicated in the severity of some extreme climatic events, such as the 2002 drought across Australia (Karoly et al. 2003). Analysis of the change causes indicates that anthropogenic effects are responsible, and in particular, the increasing level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulphur hexafluoride). There has been little advancement since the last SoE Report in the implementation of greenhouse gas emission reduction measures in Tasmania. Efficiency improvements in housing within Tasmania can help to reduce Tasmania's emission of greenhouse gases from residential heating.
   
• Scenic Landscape Condition: There has been a significant deterioration in landscape values of Hobart's hill slopes arising from residential development. Increasing property values and housing development-particularly along Tasmania's coastlines-is placing pressure on the State's landscapes and requires consistent and coordinated policy responses. Intensification of land use, combined with the absence of landscape inventories and poor recognition of landscapes within many planning schemes, will lead to a deterioration of landscape values if present trends continue. This will have consequences for the sense of place of Tasmanians and the quality of experience enjoyed by visitors.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

A number of initiatives have contributed to improvements in the environmental performance and sustainability of Tasmanian communities since the previous SoE Report.

• There are now many planning schemes, which include basic development controls for bushfire prone areas. These include Break O'Day, Flinders, Glamorgan /Spring Bay, Tasman, Hobart, Kingborough (pending), Glenorchy, Clarence (pending), Waratah /Wynyard, Southern Midlands (pending), Brighton, and West Coast. Reviews of the West Tamar, Meander Valley, Devonport and George Town planning schemes are under way.
   
• The Australian Building Codes Board has added energy efficiency provisions for houses to the Building Code of Australia. The code includes insulation for walls, ceilings and floors, and improved glazing and shading. The national energy code for houses was introduced in January 1, 2003. Some councils in Tasmania have adopted the requirements for improved building design by providing rebates for buildings that achieve a certain energy efficiency rating.
   
• The Urban Skylines and Hillfaces Committee (comprising community, state and local government representatives) developed a method for identifying the visual impact of development on skylines and hillfaces, and identified recommendations for improving the management of visually sensitive areas (Urban Skylines and Hillfaces Committee 2000). However, there has been only limited application of this information.
   
• The State Policy on Protection of Agricultural Land was introduced to constrain the subdivision of agricultural land.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Settlements' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Related Issue Reports