Page 2356 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 28 June 2005

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care facility, along with 40 independent living units in Garran. That will be completed early next year.

Calvary has now submitted its development application to ACTPLA for its development at Bruce. The formal development approval process is still being followed, but this is a major milestone for this particular project. The Calvary project manager has advised my department that they expect, at this stage, that they will have the 100-bed, 75 independent living units development at Bruce completed next year. The roadworks on Jaeger Circuit have already been approved, and construction is set to commence.

Two other major ventures will take a big step forward in July this year—in the next few weeks. Development applications for both Mirrinjani in Weston and Goodwin in Ainslie will be lodged. The Mirrinjani project will provide for 64 beds, half of which will be dementia specific; the Ainslie redevelopment will deliver 100 beds and an additional 165 independent assisted living units. At the moment also being progressed is the Illawarra Retirement Trust project in Belconnen with an additional 100 beds and 250 units; St Andrews in Hughes; Goodwin in Monash; Ridgecrest in Page; Morshead in Lyneham; and the Baptist Community Service in Griffith. They are currently in the design phase of their projects, comprising 480 beds and an additional 370 independent living units.

Another example of the positive environment on aged care accommodation is the assessment panel, recently formed within the Chief Minister’s Department with the purpose of speeding up the process of land sale and development. At the moment we are looking at approximately 1,000 additional beds and 1,000 independent living units either under construction or being actively planned. This will, of course, bring an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in new aged care facilities to the ACT. I think we can all recall some of the criticism received for the fact that we spent time undertaking strategic planning. We undertook strategic planning to deliver results like this. That is what good governments do, and that is what we did; from nothing.

Public housing

MR STEFANIAK: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services. Minister, during question time on 23 June this year you confirmed that David Eastman still maintains his tenancy agreement with Housing ACT, although he has been convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. You also confirmed that his property is currently vacant and, subject to an outcome of an appeal in court, he maintains security of tenure over his property. Given that Mr Eastman is serving life in prison, have you considered allowing Housing ACT, where practical, to utilise vacant properties to accommodate people needing short-term accommodation, especially short-term crisis accommodation?

MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, Housing ACT has a tenancy agreement with Mr Eastman. Mr Eastman has an appeal before the courts. We will talk about it when that appeal has been concluded.

Mr Stanhope: When was he sentenced, Mr Stefaniak? In 1995, I think.

Mr Stefaniak: I think his appeal finished in 2000, Chief Minister.


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