Page 4520 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 20 November 1991
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Many will argue that, even if we charge 100 per cent betterment tax, which I have always said that we should be charging, the valuation will never deliver to the community the real value of the land, because the valuers are always employed by the developers, and they want to be employed again. As much as they like to remain impartial, because of the way we work our system, there is a great pressure on valuers in order to make sure that their valuation, shall I say, favours, if you have an extreme - because I am not suggesting corruption - a lower increase in the value of the land.
That is what we are talking about, and that is what the community interest is. If we are going to have the land redeveloped, how can the community get its interest? If this land is to be redeveloped, the bowling club no longer needs or wants it or can use it; so let them hand it back to the community and let us, as a community, hold it.
Mr Duby: Let us build 50 townhouses on it.
MR MOORE: If we do want to redevelop it - Mr Duby says if we want to allow 50 townhouses to be built - let us auction the land. If townhouses are to be built, that would be the appropriate case.
But, before we do that, let us determine whether we think there is still some appropriate sporting interest in that land. I would argue that there certainly is, and it is very strongly presented by representatives of the Forrest Tennis Club, who have written and explained that they could use it as an active and vibrant club. In recent years, they have built a new tennis pavilion, which was completed in 1983, using an $18,000 grant and about $35,000 of their own funds; they modernised court lighting in 1985, using $24,000 of their own funds; and synthetic surfaces were laid on four or five courts in 1989, using $74,000 of their own funds. Next door, there is an active and vibrant club that can use this land. If we want to be sensible in this, the appropriate thing to do at this stage is to deal with this in exactly the same way as we dealt with Northbourne Oval, and that is to send it back; reject it.
DR KINLOCH (11.26): I would first like to declare an interest. As Mr Kaine has suggested, there is a range of interests. I have had an interest in this matter for many weeks; I do not remember how many weeks. The Residents Rally as a group has been involved with this issue. Furthermore, I did not come into this issue yesterday. About three or four weeks ago I received a letter from the chairman of the Forrest bowling club. I replied to that letter, inviting him and members of his club to come and see me so that I could explain to them what I hope I can now explain to you.
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