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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 8 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2263 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

It is interesting to note that the Liberals never had a ready release program. They made no provision for the situation where a proposed land release failed to occur because of environmental or other factors.

For example, when the Lawson land release failed to proceed this year because of a decision by the Commonwealth Defence Department, there was no immediate scope available to us to simply slot something else into the program. We had to go and find and do the work of developing something.

What we have done, for the first time in the history of self-government, is build in an extra year's worth of supply, greenfields land, into our land release program for the coming financial year-something you failed to do in the seven years that you were responsible for land release in the ACT.

So for you to stand up in this place and lecture this government on the land release program, when first of all we are releasing more dwelling sites than you were ever planning to release in this financial year and, secondly, we have a land release program in greenfields sites which is double what you ever proposed to have, is simply hypocrisy at its worst.

MRS DUNNE: I have a supplementary question. I think it probably could be answered by asking the minister to table the list from which he read, because I would like, by close of business today, a schedule of all the blocks that the government claims to have released this year.

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, I will endeavour to get that detailed information for Mrs Dunne, and present it to the Assembly as soon as possible.

City Library

MS GALLAGHER: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services, Mr Wood. Minister, there has been a proposal to develop the City Library in the Link at the Canberra Theatre Centre. Can the minister inform the Assembly about the status of this proposal?

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, with the Cultural Facilities Corporation I am committed to progressing this project and will be authorising the corporation, as the managing agency for the project, to lodge an application for development works approval with the National Capital Authority, which is the planning approval body for the site.

At this stage the project has been withdrawn from the capital works program to allow time to seek NCA approval for the project design, and then to develop an updated costing for the design once it has been approved, and an updated construction schedule. This will provide a sound basing for seeking revised funding for the project in the 2003-04 capital works program. This approach is necessary to reflect the major changes that have occurred to the design, in order to take into account user needs, comments received during public consultation, and National Capital Authority planning requirements, especially height limitations due to the need to maintain the City Hill/Mount Ainslie view corridor.

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