Page 2065 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 June 1994
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MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, Mr Moore the other day claimed that there would be betterment forgone if the proposal at Yowani goes ahead. The only time that betterment would be forgone would be if Mr Moore's proposals were the ones taken up. Mr Moore's proposals would see nothing happen there. Nothing could happen there, the way Mr Moore is presenting it. If we are to get betterment it will be done in the way that is currently being proposed for consideration. That way will bring betterment to the ACT, and I think benefit to the community and, of course, to the golf club by way of development on that site. That is the only way that betterment will be applied.
Mr Moore asks about the racecourse and what is now EPIC. If there are development proposals, and I do not know that there are any, only by cooperation with the lessees would betterment be applied. We do not act unilaterally in this situation. We require the cooperation of lessees if anything is to emerge. I am not aware of any particular proposals for those two sites. I did hear quite some time ago that the racing club was speculating about some sort of accommodation along Flemington Road - accommodation suitable for jockeys, trainers and racing industry people. Apparently that did not emerge, and I do not know how serious it was. I might indicate my own point of view at this stage. If there were proposals for development in that very large area of the racecourse - it is an enormous area of open land - I would be more than interested. I think that we ought to look at better use of that very large area. As for EPIC, I am not aware of any proposals there either, although there is an area along Northbourne Avenue that could well attract some proposal or other, or a variety of proposals, and I would be interested in them. If we were able to work with both of the bodies operating those sites there would be some betterment coming to the ACT. If they did not want to do anything there would be no betterment. Mr Moore understands that but still wants to run it as a public issue.
MR MOORE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. I think the Minister knows very well that I do not advocate resuming the lease and then auctioning it, as a lease purist would expect. Rather, the distinction that I am making is between charging 100 per cent betterment and 50 per cent betterment. The Minister claimed in his reply that there would be no betterment coming from Yowani. If that is the case, can he tell us what the difference would be on the current proposal for Yowani if he was charging 100 per cent betterment instead of 50 per cent betterment and rather than resuming the lease?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, that seems to be a modification of point of view from Mr Moore, and if it is I welcome it. I cannot indicate what the difference would be between 50 per cent and 100 per cent, if indeed it is to be 50 per cent. At this stage I do not know what will be established.
Mr Moore: You ought to know.
MR WOOD: I am not prepared to speculate on betterment because to do so would be to speculate on what the Australian Valuation Office valuation would be, and I do not want to do that. I would not want to suggest a lower figure than we might aim for. I recall that in, I think, September last year Mr Moore gave broad support to the proposal I announced about changing the betterment system; in particular, changing the formula by which the before and after values are determined. That was a very significant change.
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