Page 3108 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 20 September 1994
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MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I accept Mr Kaine's figures. He is reading from the document and they are certainly of the order that I recall. The first thing I should say is that this is good news because this marks, along with North Watson, the return of the ACT Government to the profitable area of land development. This development is being done by the Government for the people to build there; but the profits, instead of going into private hands, will be returned to the ACT community. I notice that a private land developer last week had a few caustic words to say about me or the Government; but that should have been placed in the context that the day before he said anything there had been some advertisements in the paper calling for expressions of interest for further joint ventures, which is another way that the ACT Government gets into the land development game and ensures that the Canberra people benefit from it.
As to those three figures: The first figure, about three-quarters of a million dollars, is for the first infrastructure works, the connecting works from the surrounding roads and mains and the like, onto that site. That is the first part of the work. The second part, $2.7m or thereabouts, is for the 100-plus blocks that will be stage 1 of that development. The small amount, $42,000, is for design work for the next stage, when we add some further blocks onto that site.
There has been a delay on that development, for two reasons. The first is that we found - and people told us about it; we had not picked it up ourselves in the first instance, I have to say - that there was a former sheep dip on that site. There is some quite detailed surveying to be done to assess the extent of any contamination, how far it goes and how serious it might be. So, that work is under way, and it takes some time to do that. The second delay has been caused, not surprisingly, by the long process through our planning system and the fairly exhaustive consultation that emerged. In the end there was an appeal when a group sought to expand the heritage listing of the area. That appeal has, I think, concluded. I am just not sure whether the finding has been brought down. So, those things have delayed it.
In respect of all those works, there is design work under way, especially in relation to the 100 or so blocks. I believe that SMEC, the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation, is doing the work on that. But I cannot be precise for Mr Kaine as to dates when work will actually commence, because of these other factors that apply. Certainly, I am keen to continue the momentum, to get it up and running.
MR KAINE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. The Minister prefaced his comments by saying that this was good news. Is the good news the fact that we have not spent any of the $3.5m yet and are perhaps not likely to? At the end of this year are we going to find the Chief Minister claiming that by good management again we have saved $3.5m this year?
MR WOOD: I would ask Mr Kaine not to be peevish about this. It is good news. There has been a process. Mr Kaine, as a former member of the PDI Committee, knows the long process that we follow in that. I think the time taken is perfectly understandable in the circumstances.
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