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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 13 Hansard (26 November) . . Page.. 4687 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

them for 20 years would cost $100,000 per unit, which would be $5,000 a year per unit, if my maths are right. I just think that you have to look at that against what it is going to cost to rebuild that number of houses in the ACT, plus, as I said, the impact on the existing waiting list, which has to be significant; you can't get away from that.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I believe that this motion is very important to the general debate about housing in the ACT. I think that it was a very serious error on the part of the government to choose to close down Currong at this point in time. I acknowledge that it has caused uncertainty for people in the apartments. Ms MacDonald said that the worst possible thing we could do would be to cause more uncertainty for them. Given that a number of them want to stay there and given that this decision is going to impact negatively on the most vulnerable people in our community who are still waiting to get a house, an apartment or a flat and who are less likely to get one as a result of this decision, I do not think that the closure can be justified.

Question put:

That Ms Tucker's motion be agreed to.

The Assembly voted-

Ayes 3

Noes 12

 

Mrs Cross

Mr Berry

Ms MacDonald

Ms Dundas

Mrs Burke

Mr Pratt

Ms Tucker

Mr Corbell

Mr Quinlan

Mr Cornwell

Mr Smyth

Ms Gallagher

Mr Stanhope

Mr Hargreaves

Mr Stefaniak

Question so resolved in the negative.

Motion negatived.

Fire, Emergency Services and Ambulance Authorities Bill 2003

Debate resumed from 20 August 2003, on motion by Mr Pratt:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

MR CORBELL (Minister for Health and Minister for Planning) (3.50): Mr Speaker, on behalf of Mr Wood, I am responding to this bill on behalf of the government. Mr Pratt has presented to the Assembly a substantial bill-the Fire, Emergency Services and Ambulance Authorities Bill 2003-which establishes three new authorities to manage the various emergency services in the ACT. The clear intent of Mr Pratt's bill is, partly in response to the McLeod report's recommendations on governance of emergency services, to give emergency services a level of independence from government and bureaucratic processes in the management of the business of those services. For that, I think Mr Pratt should be congratulated.

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