Page 2150 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 June 1990
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selling off and hiving off those important public places in the interests of developers. The Residents Rally will not be here to defend the case in future, if they think they are doing it now. They are finished. This Government is about putting the pressure on these community organisations. It is not about giving them a fair deal of power in the context of a conservative, developer based government.
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (11.28): If there is one thing that has come out of the presentation of this motion this morning, it is that the Labor Party has been desperately caught short with the announcement yesterday by the Chief Minister and the Government of the proposals that are in frame and in place for the continuation of the community services and the community groups in the centre of the city and the proposed redevelopment of that city area. I could not believe that people would be so naive as to bring this motion on today after the excellent plans and proposals which were announced yesterday by the Chief Minister. It indicates to me, Mr Speaker, that they have been caught short. They have not got speeches prepared for other items and they need time to prepare speeches for other items. There are some quite voluminous items here in private members' business that I am sure they could address, but of course they are probably not ready for those speeches. They have not had their helpers prepare the notes for them and they could not possibly speak off the cuff on items.
In talking about the Griffin Centre, Mr Speaker, it may well be appropriate to look at what exactly the Griffin Centre is. According to the way it has been described by Mr Berry you would think it was the Taj Mahal of community services. The simple fact is that the Griffin Centre was never designed as a community centre, as a community services area. There is a preoccupation in the motion with the Griffin Centre being retained for a period, I believe, of 25 years - which just goes to show you the mentality over there. This is clearly ludicrous.
The Griffin Centre originally was built and designed as a government services building. I believe that for many years it operated as a part of the Government Printing Office and various other service units within the ACT Government Service - then the Commonwealth Public Service. Over the years, as community service groups and general community interest groups required a meeting place that was convenient to the centre of the city and that had ready access to transport and other services required for organisations of that nature, slowly but surely the Government moved out of what then became the Griffin Centre and it was converted into a makeshift, temporary community centre.
As a matter of fact, it is my understanding that over the years the Council of Cultural Societies, which is the head tenant of the Griffin Centre, has asked for a lease on the
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