Ecological Values of CSIRO Ginninderra Field Station Report

As we have discussed with many members of the community at our drop-in sessions, retaining green spaces and corridors and protecting Ginninderra’s ecology are key considerations for our project planning.

As part of the process, we have continued to consult with a range of conservation groups through workshops and site tours.

In addition, Umwelt Pty Limited (Umwelt) was engaged by CSIRO to undertake an ecological survey for the Ginninderra Field Station to determine the extent of ecological values, including matters of national environmental significance (MNES) on the property.

We are pleased to release the results of the Ecological Values of CSIRO Ginninderra Research Station Report.

Key survey findings include:

• Umwelt described an area of 114.41 hectares of vegetation meeting the definition of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) listed Critically Endangered Ecological Community (CEEC) ‘White Box – Yellow Box – Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland’. An equivalent community is listed as Endangered in the ACT under the Nature Conservation Act 2014 (NC Act) as ‘Yellow Box/Red Gum Grassy Woodland’. Vegetation meeting the definition of these communities was further described in collaboration with CSIRO vegetation ecologists, resulting in a total of 112.78 hectares of this community being present in a range of condition classes.
• At least 32.86 hectares of confirmed golden sun moth habitat, a Critically Endangered species under the EPBC Act, and Endangered under the NC Act
• 95 species of birds, including three Vulnerable birds under the NC Act (little eagle – breeding, scarlet robin and white-winged triller), one migratory bird under the EPBC Act (Latham’s snipe)
• 12 species of reptiles, including striped legless lizard (Vulnerable under the EPBC Act and NC Act)
• 3 species of frogs (non-targeted list likely to be more)
• 243 plant taxa across 62 plant families, including 128 native taxa, 117 exotic taxa and 16 planted native taxa.

Umwelt has also prepared an Ecological Management Plan to assist CSIRO to maintain the condition of matters of national environmental significance (MNES) in identified areas.

Currently, CSIRO is working through options to maintain ecological values in the context of proposed urban development. This includes consideration as to how identified areas can be maintained or improved in an urban reserve context, ensuring connectivity between viable remnants to maintain diversity, and appropriate urban management actions to reduce impacts on biodiversity.

The area of land to be conserved for ecological values and persistence of species is over 30% of the site. This will provide valuable recreational and conservation areas, as well as preserve some of the views of the hills and ridges currently experienced by adjoining suburbs. These open spaces will also allow for wildlife to continue traversing the property.

If you have any questions or suggestions on the environmental management of Ginninderra, please contact us.

Affordable housing – restoring the great Australian dream

A growing population, rising tide of record high property prices, limited land release and broader economic and social change is swamping the great Australian dream of owning a home and even pushing rent payments out of reach for many Australians.

Is this an inevitable and unstoppable tide? It doesn’t have to be – according to some leading experts and creative thinkers.

The encouraging response at our Affordable Housing Think Tank suggests there is a groundswell of innovative ideas – for example flexible design, tenure and financial models – that could make Australian homes more affordable and sustainable.

But how can we make a difference when it has been difficult to achieve this in many states and jurisdictions across the country?

Short of a major collapse of our city real estate markets, it is difficult to see how property prices and rents might be attainable for many Australians, particularly the younger demographic and those in low-mid income ranges.

Recent reports have found:

• 27,500 people or 13% of the ACT’s workforce, are in housing stress. This includes 43% of people working in retail and 33% of those working in accommodation and food services. [ACT Shelter et al, 2015, “Housing affordability and the labour market in the ACT”, Canberra.]
• 7% of low income households renting in the ACT are in housing stress (spending more than 30% of gross household income on housing costs) [ABS, Housing Occupancy and Costs 2013-14, cat. no.4310.0 released 16 October 2015]
• Of 1,497 private rental properties advertised in ACT and Queanbeyan on 2 April 2016 – only 102 of these were affordable and suitable for a family of two adults, both earning the minimum wage, and two children. [Anglicare Australia, Rental Affordability Snapshot 2016, Canberra]

A combination of factors is driving the market and compounding the affordability crisis. Of course our population is growing and ageing, but household and family structures are also changing, which often means we have fewer people in each house (declining occupancy rate). Put this together with the tax breaks and incentives that have existed for multiple property investment and it adds up to a lot of competition for the properties that come on the market.

Since new land and housing supply has not kept up with this level of demand, the asking prices continue to be high. Those with the ability to pay higher prices win out, leaving mid and lower income earners with a tough battle.

If unchanged, this amounts to a fairly bleak outlook for those in or close to ‘housing stress’.

While it’s possible to build more units and release more land, in a tight fiscal environment everyone wants to maximise returns to balance the books. Governments or landholders want the best price for land, while developers, builders, real estate agents and investors all want to maximise profits.

More creative ideas and sustainable and enduring solutions are needed.

At Ginninderra, we have the opportunity to achieve strong affordable housing outcomes.

The Affordable Housing Think Tank was a first step, bringing out a wealth of ideas to inform our approach . Two experts who attended were Dr Louise Crabtree, a Senior Research Fellow at Western Sydney University, and Mark Peacock, Director of Impact Investing at Social Ventures Australia.

“As people’s housing needs change, imagine if their houses had flexibility of design,” said Dr Crabtree. “For Ginninderra, I think we should be asking how it is governed – owned and structured – on an ongoing basis. The site is really quite special as it can set a benchmark and really push innovation in terms of affordability and sustainability for future developments.”

Mr Peacock said, “The Ginninderra site presents so many opportunities. One of the ideas that I’d like to see progress around is what a mixed tenure or mixed development type model might look like – catering to different groups of people at different stages of their lives. How do you bring together a wide range of individuals and families to build a community? Through a variety of housing, different types of stock, and potentially different forms of social infrastructure on the side.”

Affordability is just one of the sustainability issues that confronts our cities and urban environments. Some of the others are water, energy and resource consumption, waste and environmental impacts.

We believe that with a lot of planning, collaboration and co-operation, it is possible to address them all in a sustainable urban development at Ginninderra.