Page 499 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 March 2014
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(f) simplify the Territory Plan so that it is more easily comprehended by those in the building industry and residents.
The Canberra Liberals support the construction sector and the important role that it plays in building our city and the jobs, wealth and opportunities it creates for thousands of Canberrans. It is disappointing that the ACT Labor-Greens government has seemingly taken delight in strangling the industry to a point where many companies have gone out of business, moved interstate or have wound back their operations considerably. Only now, years later, has the government acknowledged that their own policies have been destructive.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the government’s stubbornness is getting in the way of good public policy and it is hurting Canberra families. Of course, at the top of the list is their reluctance to acknowledge at any point over the last few years that the lease variation charge and the commence and complete fees were severely hurting the construction sector. In fact, they said the opposite. Like a mad general painting a rosy picture of the situation just days before losing a war, the government had been blindly defending their lease variation charge and commence and complete fees, despite rationality saying they were a disaster.
On numerous occasions in the media, in the chamber and at forums, government ministers have defended the commence and complete fees regime as being right. Yet, this month, the government has finally backed down and said they have a problem. Why has it taken so long? The Property Council, the Master Builders, the Housing Institute, the opposition, builders and others have all been saying that the commence and complete fees put an impost on commercial properties that is unreasonable and that is hurting our economy. Not only were individuals unable to pay the fees but the fees were holding up development significantly.
One great example of this has been the Kingswim proposal in Tuggeranong. We are also aware of projects in Fyshwick, medical facilities and others which have been put on hold at a time when the development of those projects would provide a much needed shot in the arm for the ACT economy. Despite repeated efforts by numerous people the government has waited and waited. Now, at the 11th hour for many businesses, the government has finally seen sense. However, it needs to be permanent.
The lease variation charge is another example where the government is desperate to get a cash grab but has left common sense out of the equation. Whilst many people were happy when the government commenced codification of lease change arrangements, the devil was in the detail. The amounts of those codified rates were extremely high. In fact, in some instances it was up to $50,000 for each unit in a development in some inner suburbs. Of course, the government said developers would happily pay this but in reality, if the projects went ahead at all, it would simply mean passing that $50,000 on to consumers.
The government has not got the numbers that they thought they would have. This has led to a situation where there are few developments under construction or in the pipeline. Like the commence and complete fees, the government was still saying that
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