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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 6 Hansard (13 June) . . Page.. 1606 ..

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, I might answer that, given that it falls in my portfolio. When that commitment was given, it was given on the understanding that the information that was necessary for those payments to be made was available. Between the trust and Tennis ACT there was then some need for coordination and the finalisation of documents and the provision of those documents to the academy so that they could make those payments. Unfortunately, my understanding is that Tennis ACT was not in a position to do that as speedily as they thought they could.

However, there has been some activity on that front. A lot of good work has been done by a number of the creditors and with the assistance of the MBA to make sure that those documents are available. They have now been made available. I understand Mr Hanna met with Mr Dawes over the weekend and that the handing over of the cheques has commenced.

So, in that regard, the government's objective in making sure that this very valuable facility went ahead-and, indeed, I note that it was supported by the Leader of the Opposition-has been achieved. What we will get is employment and another valuable asset for the sporting public of the ACT. That can now go ahead and at the same time the government has secured for the creditors the commencement of payment of their debts.

MR CORBELL: I ask a supplementary question. Did the government receive written agreement from Mr Hanna that he was prepared to agree to your request that all outstanding creditors be paid? If so, will the minister table it? If you did not receive such written agreement, how could you even impose this condition in the first place?

MR SMYTH: There are a number of conditions, some in the DA in regard to the actual physical construction and the effect of the construction on the surrounding area, and in his covering letter to Tennis ACT Mr Humphries made it clear that this was conditional upon the payment of outstanding debts.

Now, what have we been able to achieve? The money has started to flow to those creditors, and I am grateful for the assistance of a large number of people who have worked very hard in gathering the information and making it available so that this could occur. The other thing that we have achieved, of course, is that a very valuable development for the ACT is allowed to go ahead, and I note, although it does not seem to be with the support of Mr Corbell, it is certainly with the support of Mr Stanhope, who thought that it was a very valuable facility for the ACT.

Firstly, in terms of short-term construction jobs, there will be a number of jobs in this development, which is tens of millions of dollars. And, in the longer term, we have been given a valuable facility for our sporting public and we also get other jobs and facilities that it will provide. The government has achieved both the objectives that it set out to achieve-

Mr Corbell: Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The supplementary question was quite explicit. It had two parts. The minister has answered the second part; he has not answered the first part. I would ask you, Mr Speaker, to direct the minister to be succinct in his answer. The part of the supplementary question that the minister has not yet answered is: did the government-

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