Page 478 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 May 1992
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Further, in an article in the Canberra Times, Mr Enright is reported as saying:
Our view is that people needing supported accommodation do not have the necessary skills to run a multi-million-dollar business.
The article also states:
The ability to discriminate between gossip, fact and policy was important.
I suggest that these quotes clearly indicate that the board has one idea of what Ainslie Village stands for and how it should be run, and the residents clearly have another. The problems, however, real or imagined, between these two groups will not be easily resolved and certainly not by inter-party negotiation. I suggest to you that the gap has become a gulf between these two parties.
Therefore, while we do not take sides, I believe that this Assembly should intervene, and we should do so for several reasons. Firstly, ACT Government funds are paid to Ainslie Village Ltd; secondly, allegations have been raised about the operations of Ainslie Village; thirdly, the degree of alienation between management and residents will not go away; fourthly, the situation has the potential to embarrass this Assembly if we fail to act; fifthly, the residents have sought our assistance in establishing an independent review; and, lastly, an independent review of Ainslie Village was intended originally.
Therefore, I urge you to support this MPI and, in Mr Enright's words, we should also attempt to discriminate between gossip, fact and policy in this matter of Ainslie Village Ltd.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.37): I noted very carefully Mr Cornwell's remarks. I must say that Mr Cornwell was temperate in his remarks and did not attempt to create a whiff of scandal or a smell about this Government. There is only one smell about this Government at the moment and that is that we seem to have a problem on the fifth floor which is clear to anyone who leaves the lift. We seem to have a plumbing problem up there.
Mr Cornwell: I am one of the most reasonable people I know, Mr Connolly.
MR CONNOLLY: Indeed. The history of Ainslie Village is, by and large, as set out by Mr Cornwell; but there are a couple of points that need to be clarified, and I will do so. The village had its origins as a hostel for construction workers and migrants in the 1940s. It was handed over to the Department of the Capital Territory in 1976. It was run by private contractors on a fee for service basis from 1976 to 1980. During that time it deteriorated; it gained a reputation for disorder and violence; and it was a fairly unpleasant part of Canberra.
After that deterioration it got to the point where only some 30-odd people were living there and the buildings were in a very run-down state. The Federal Government at the time began seeking alternative management strategies for the village. As a result of that, a company known as Ainslie Village Management Pty Ltd was formed with the purpose of running the village. That company had the objectives of providing low-cost accommodation for unemployed and other people, of providing employment opportunities for the residents and others and of providing recreation facilities.
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