Page 3683 - Week 12 - Thursday, 25 November 2021
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among the widest in the country. In the ACT wages across the private-public sector increased 81.5 per cent over 20 years, while dwellings rose in value by 224 per cent in the time that Labor and the Greens have shared power here—224 per cent. In the Northern Territory, the increase was less than half of that, at 99 per cent. In WA it was only 139 per cent. In South Australia it was 171 per cent. It is abundantly clear that the crisis has hit much harder here than in most other places.
Every time we bring these matters up in the chamber, our friend Mr Gentleman carps on about the same stuff. He says things like, “Those evil Liberals; they’re going to expand the outer reaches of the city and they’re going to bulldoze Kowen Forest.” He speaks of Kowen Forest as though it is like the Everglades or the Daintree Rainforest. Kowen Forest is a commercial pine plantation. Mr Gentleman is well aware of that because, of course, it is owned by ACT government.
The only two parties in this place that have a standing policy to bulldoze Kowen Forest are Labor and the Greens. As part of its use as a commercial pine plantation it is clear that there are bits that regularly involve the use of a bulldozer. There is no policy from the Canberra Liberals to bulldoze Kowen Forest. The only two parties that have a policy to bulldoze Kowen Forest are Labor and the Greens. Again, I would remind the minister—he knows full well—that it is a commercial pine plantation. Fine; it is a great place through which to ride your mountain bike, but that is a secondary use of Kowen Forest.
I would also point out to the minister the fact that his government is the one that passed a bill recently allowing this government to purchase land, willy-nilly, in New South Wales, very clearly for residential development. I would say to the minister: “Don’t come in here and accuse us of throwing out the city boundaries far and wide.” I would say to the minister: “You guys are the ones who are pushing to expand the boundary of the city across the interstate border.”
We still really do not know—I think we do know, and we have asked questions over a number of years—about the farmland that was purchased out west of Molonglo. No-one can tell us why that was purchased. I do not believe that it was to graze sheep. I do not think that it was purchased to graze cattle.
Another far-reaching impact, of course, is the magnificent gift that we have handed to nearby New South Wales landowners and councils—Yass, Murrumbateman, Bungendore, Queanbeyan and Googong. They are all enjoying an absolute bonanza from this government’s refusal to let people live in the territory in the sort of dwelling that they wish to live in.
It does not stop there. This Assembly, of course, has given the Suburban Land Agency the legal tick to buy land in New South Wales. Minister Gentleman glibly says that he is releasing sites for 41,000 dwellings against a population growth of 17½ thousand. He also says that our choices have never been greater than they are now, and that his government is offering an array of genuine alternatives. To some extent, his alternatives are indeed genuine, Mr Assistant Speaker, because if you can access $1 million to $1½ million, your choice in this town is quite substantial. Of course, if you cannot, if you are unfortunate enough to be in the lower two income quintiles—
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