Page 4050 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 24 October 1990
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Alan Bond and Christopher Skase tried it. Now the ALP and Liberal Party are looking at whether they can get richer by going further into debt.
Over the past couple of months, both parties have been quietly talking to the ACT planning authorities about shifting home to better spots within the Parliamentary triangle, Canberra's most sought-after real estate.
Both have their eyes on two large vacant blocks opposite the National Press Club, about 10 minutes walk from Parliament House.
I will extract another three little bits from it. It states:
The Liberals don't make a cracker from their abode, despite its prestigious position.
But the ALP makes about $1 million a year before tax by renting out offices on the bottom floors of its building.
The ALP has figured it can probably double this revenue by building a bigger office with more tenants on another block.
Further on the article states:
The ALP has already negotiated to sell a third of its building to an ACTU-led consortium to help cancel out its campaign debts.
The question, Chief Minister, is this: Is it appropriate for the ACT taxpayer to be supporting these campaign headquarters in terms of special leases under our leasehold system, and is there any intention to grant special leases to either the Labor or Liberal headquarters and give them such opportunities?
MR KAINE: There is some truth in the article, to the extent that both the Federal Liberal Party and the Federal Labor Party are negotiating for new sites for their national headquarters. A lease over block 3 of section 13, Barton, was granted to the Liberal Party of Australia in 1963 for the sole purpose of conducting the business of the Federal Secretariat of the Liberal Party of Australia. In recent years the party has considered the possibility of redeveloping this site and has applied for a new lease with a wider purpose clause based on similar terms to those that apply to other national association leases in Barton. Subsequently, however, the Liberal Party sought to pursue another option - that of acquiring a new site. Block 2 of section 16, Barton, which has been identified as suitable for development by a national association, is the site considered for the Liberal Party.
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