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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 6 Hansard (23 May) . . Page.. 1652 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

with those buildings as they are now, for some time to come. Those buildings, in my personal opinion, are ugly, inappropriate and no longer useful, and deserve to be used in a different way. In fact, it would be more appropriate if they were knocked down and something else was done there.

I do not think the Territory should stand in the way of that happening, and I hope that those opposite will consider whether they are doing themselves and the future of the Territory any good by chaining themselves to that building, metaphorically speaking, and committing themselves and their future to that building.

Mr Berry: How many little Australians were born in that building?

MR HUMPHRIES: How many little Australians were born in that building? I have a great sentimental attachment to some buildings as well, but I am not going to tell people that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investment in this town cannot go ahead because Mr Berry and a handful of other people - and I emphasise the word "handful" - happen to believe that it is important to keep those particular buildings in place on Acton Peninsula. I think they stand in the way of a very good deal for the Territory. I am more than prepared to support the deal that we made with the Keating Labor Government and get that development up and running; get those buildings knocked down at the earliest opportunity.

Mrs Carnell: At their instigation.

Mr De Domenico: At their instigation.

MR HUMPHRIES: At their instigation, I am reminded by my colleagues. I am prepared to honour that deal made with the Federal Labor Government and get that proposal moving. Everybody in this chamber knows, in their heart of hearts, that, without the Acton-Kingston land swap, the potential of both of those sites simply cannot be realised, in the short term at least. If we are serious about wanting to create jobs in this Territory, if we are serious about taking that beyond rhetoric in this chamber - bouncing figures across this chamber and talking about how much we care about young people without jobs - then our job in this place is to get those sorts of projects moving. I, for one, would vote for that every day.

MR BERRY (11.30): I was a member of this committee for a good part of the inquiry and I have to say that the recommendations which have turned up as a result of its complete deliberations are welcome. As I think somebody else said earlier in the debate, the recommendations contain all of the information that should have been canvassed before this deal was done. Over the years, there has been a core of people, both in the public sector - the Commonwealth and the ACT - and in the private sector, who have had their eye on the Acton site. There is no question about that. They have been waiting for somebody to come along to wrest it from the ACT's control and, of course, they saw Mrs Carnell coming a mile away. You can always recognise a mug and a sucker, and that is what happened with this. This is one of the lousiest deals ever imposed on the Territory. Let us have a look at - - -

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