Q. What is BEMP?
BEMP stands for Built Environment Meets Parliament.
BEMP is an ongoing discussion between parliamentarians and industry leaders that showcases the relationship between Australian communities and their built environment. The most recent BEMP meeting occurred in Parliament House Canberra on 12 August 2009
Q. Who runs BEMP?
BEMP's hosting partners are:
* Association of Consulting Engineers Australia
* Australian Institute of Architects
* Green Building Council of Australia
* Planning Institute of Australia
* Property Council of Australia
Q. Where to from here?
Our aim is to feed your views directly to the PM's taskforce on strategic planning and the Major Cities Unit.
A revised Principles for Sustainable Communities will also be issued, after taking account of your feedback.
Q. What's covered by the Allen Consulting Group's "Principles for Planning Sustainable Communities"?
The document (attached to the Library):
* outlines model sustainable planning framework PRINCIPLES;
* offers a four-point IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM for improving urban planning in Australia;
* explores lessons learned from previous reform programs in Australia.
Q. What is a model strategic planning framework?
This is a thorny question. Australia has plenty of urban plans and metropoltian strategies. However, do they meet the current and future needs of the community?
A MODEL strategic planning framework attempts to identify the critical factors or issues that should be addressed by ALL strategic plans.
The model is more than a checklist - the model framework:
* outlines PRINCIPLES that can guide the drafting of urban strategies;
* requires clear and coherent GOALS that will drive strategic plans;
* proposes METRICS that provide a basis for measuring performance against promises; and,
* proposes GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS that will better co-ordinate the implementation of urban planning strategies.
If the model framework is well designed, then all current and future government urban strategies should measure up to the framework, or return to the drawing board.
We aim to draft a world class model framework to provide to Governments - that's why we seek your views.
Q. What do you mean by `competition policy' model?
The framework proposed by the Allen Consulting Group draws on a national competition policy model (NCP).
NCP moved into high gear under the Keating Government in the mid 1990s, following the Hilmer Review.
After a series of Special Premiers conferences, the states and territories agreed to restructure their public sector monopolies, to compete with the private sector on a more even basis and reform anti competitive regulations.
In return, they received `competition payments' from the Federal Government.
Although the NCP has its critics, many analysts argue it lifted national productivity and household incomes, reduced the price of family staples and increased consumer power.
The question is: can NCP-style approaches lead to better policy design, clearer targets and more effectively `join-up' Australia's urban planning efforts?