Page 453 - Week 02 - Thursday, 3 March 1994
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NORTH WATSON RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
Report and Ministerial Statement
Debate resumed from 1 March, on motion by Mr Kaine:
That the report be noted.
MADAM SPEAKER: I understand that it is the wish of the Assembly to debate this order of the day concurrently with notice No. 1, Assembly business, relating to the disallowance of approved variation No. 5 for North Watson.
Mr Moore: No.
MADAM SPEAKER: There is an objection. We will not proceed in that way.
MR KAINE (10.46), in reply: Madam Speaker, I believe that the report tabled by the Minister should represent the end of the long process of determining what should or should not happen in North Watson. This independent economic analysis was done because the North Watson community group contended that the Government had not done a proper economic analysis, and I think there was some justification for their position on that. They had put in a very comprehensive economic analysis which, in their view, suggested strongly that the residential development in North Watson should not go ahead. Because of the concern of some members of the Planning Committee, we strongly recommended to the Government that an independent economic analysis be done to give the members of the committee, and the members of this Assembly, some assurance that what was proposed was indeed economically soundly based.
I believe that Access Economics is an organisation with the credentials to carry out such a study and that their recommendations and their conclusions can therefore be taken as being reasonably authoritative. They conclude that the development of North Watson, on an economic basis, is justified. That will continue to cause concern to some people in the community - people who believe not only that this project is not economically soundly based but also that it is not soundly based on social and other bases.
I would like to look at the initial analysis done by Access Economics. On page 2 of their report they define what they saw as being their terms of reference, and I think they were right. They are:
. determine the methodologies appropriate to the task;
. identify and analyse the economic costs of the North Watson development and to compare these, both as to their amount and timing, with a similar sized greenfields development;
. identify and analyse ongoing economic costs and benefits which may differ between the two development options;
. identify and, where possible, analyse the wider issues for the ACT Community; and
. present our conclusions in a form which is readily useable by the widest possible range of people within the ACT community.
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