Page 2279 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 1 November 1989
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Another aspect of this project was whether or not there was anything unique about it that would justify recommending a different course of action from that which the judge came to in his decision. There is some argument to suggest that there is a uniqueness about it. This uniqueness stems from the fact that the company in question has engaged in a lot of work of a developmental nature in Canberra over many years. In almost every case, in every project that it has undertaken, it had to have a lease purpose change. In no prior case was it refused. When it bought this lease there was every expectation that this project was just another project of the same kind and nature as those that it had been engaged in for many years in the Territory. So there was a reasonable expectation on its part that there would be no objection to its going ahead on this particular development.
So we believe there were reasons which justify the committee recommending to the Assembly that we pursue a specific course of action and, in simple terms, that course of action is to have the existing lease surrendered and to issue another one. The committee chairman, Mr Collaery, has pointed out that we believe there ought to be some constraints on that. I think there is the question of whether or not the Civic centre is going to be filled up to its ceiling of employees with public servants. Should it not become the commercial centre for the city of Canberra? And, if there is a ceiling on how many people can be employed here, does that not then require that the public servants be accommodated somewhere else and that Civic be left free to expand as a commercial centre? I think, on that basis, the committee chairman has recommended that something positive be done to make sure that this particular building is not filled up with public servants as soon as it is available - not that we have anything in particular against public servants but, if it is the intention that Civic become the commercial centre of Canberra, we have got to make space available for that to occur.
Mr Speaker, there were real problems. I do not say that the committee report has completed the debate on a lot of those issues. We attempted to evaluate them and to recommend a course of action to the Assembly, to the Chief Minister and to the Minister for Industry, Employment and Education as to which direction they should go to resolve this problem in the longer-term interests of the Territory. We believe our recommendation is the right one. We know there will be some aspects of it that are controversial and that the debate perhaps has not finished yet, but I think we have made a reasonable recommendation which the Government can entertain and get on with quickly to resolve the matter.
MR WOOD (10.48): Mr Speaker, the first aspect that the committee had to consider was whether it should consider the matter at all. In this regard I take a stronger view
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