Page 4799 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994

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Starlight Drive-In Site - Redevelopment

MR MOORE: My question is directed to Mr Wood as Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning and it refers to the Starlight Drive-In. With reference to the Starlight Drive-In and the proposed new 330 residential sites described in that glossy sales brochure as Karelia Park - the sales brochure I showed you yesterday - it advertises them at between $94,000 and $140,000 per dwelling. An ultra-conservative UCV would be about $40,000, leaving the land value at over $13m. Considering a new lease was issued only a couple of years ago, what betterment do you expect that our community can look forward to, Minister?

MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I expect that the ACT community can look forward to very substantial betterment - more substantial betterment since the time, a year or so ago, I amended the regulations to provide a greater return; that change which focused on the before and after value. We will get a very substantial return.

MR MOORE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Considering that the value is now shown at under $2m, would you expect the return to be over $10m, Minister?

MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I am not prepared to put a figure on it at the moment, but Mr Moore is pointing out a relatively low value. That being the case, the return to the ACT should be quite considerable, because the contrast between the before and after values is now much greater than it was formerly.

Unemployment

MR DE DOMENICO: Madam Speaker, my question without notice is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, during the three years of your Government, between June 1991 and August 1994, the number of people unemployed for more than 12 months in the ACT has grown from 1,500 to 3,400 - an increase of 125 per cent. Do you view these statistics as another example of the Government's failure to deal with the tragic social problem of long-term unemployment?

MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, we have had today the release of the labour force figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. I can confirm that, yet again, the Territory has the lowest unemployment figures of any State or Territory, and that is something which I think is worthy of some degree of satisfaction; but, of course, it is not the end of the unemployment problem, which does continue. That is why, as a government, we have made jobs our main priority and have continued to work hard to ensure that the Territory does return to full employment. I can also advise members that this month's ABS figures show that the number of people in jobs in the Territory is at an all time high.


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