Page 488 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 June 1989
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Minister's Office
MRS NOLAN: My question is to the Deputy Chief Minister. May I bring his attention to an article which appeared in the Valley View on 22 February. I table the document which states:
I have already announced my intention to open an electoral office in the Town Centre. This will ensure accessibility at a political level.
On 25 May, in reply to a question relating to the same matter, the Minister's reply was, "The answer is no". Would the Minister tell me which is the true statement?
MR WHALAN: It is true, Mr Speaker, what the business community in Tuggeranong have to say about Mrs Nolan. I will not elaborate on what they have to say, but they are concerned about the lack of support that the Tuggeranong town centre is receiving from the Liberal Party. What they see is continual knocking by the - - -
Mr Kaine: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker. I have now witnessed two questions asked by members of the Liberal Party. The first one was shrugged off as a joke when it was quite clearly a serious question about a political poster in a primary school, which should not have been there and which the Minister shrugged off.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Kaine, please get to the point.
Mr Kaine: He is now attempting to avoid answering this question. I think he should answer the question.
MR SPEAKER: The Deputy Chief Minister may proceed.
MR WHALAN: Mr Speaker, as I was saying about the Tuggeranong town centre, it is experiencing considerable difficulties. We have seen some publicity recently about the problems faced by the Churches Centre building there, in terms of its difficulties in gaining tenants. There is still a considerable number of retail vacancies in the town centre, and there are indications that the town centre is not trading as well as other parts of Canberra.
Related to that situation is the fact that the cost of rental accommodation in Tuggeranong is significantly less than it is in other parts of Canberra. I would remind members that in Civic there is, at this point in time, contrary to reports, a shortage of office accommodation, and that is having quite a dramatic effect on rental prices.
The indications are that by the end of this year newly occupied space will rise to $300 a square metre and that it will continue to rise for some considerable time into the future. On the other hand, good accommodation in
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