Page 1444 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 11 August 1992
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The development of York Park; the construction of a building for the Taxation Office; even, dare I suggest it, the construction of a building for the BMR. Let us sort out that argument as to whether there is or is not going to be a BMR and whether it is going to be in Canberra or not. I think the Commonwealth has an obligation, just as the ACT Government does, to make its contribution to the continued level of employment in the ACT.
Apart from that, there are some significant proposals here. It has been noted that the biggest one of them is the system for the Supreme Court and the magistrates courts, to provide proper accommodation for them. But there are others. There is some $20m for further road and other associated development in Gungahlin. Interestingly, associated with that is the provision of $4.4m for the extension of Ginninderra Drive and the water main to allow further development into West Belconnen.
On that point, I would exhort the Government to rethink its removal from further development of large areas of West Belconnen. Mr Wood, I am sure, will be most interested in the debate that has been going on lately about the cost of land - the proposition that land in Gungahlin is going to cost $65,000 and that there is not going to be any cheap land any more. The whole idea of the West Belconnen development was to provide an alternative source of lower cost land. That is why it was proposed in the first place. Yet this Government, with its backing and filling on whether it likes or does not like urban infill and consolidation, has written out a very large area of West Belconnen from development. I think they should write it back in and ensure that for the next five to 10 years there will be an alternative source of land at reasonable prices, as compared with the $65,000 a block that is being projected for Gungahlin. I hope Mr Wood is storing my comments away for future reference.
There are one or two other significant projects in here, such as the Conder primary and preschool at just over $7m and a hospice at $3m. I hope the Minister for Health thinks very seriously about that hospice and puts it in a place where it ought to be - rather than in some backwater which will be very difficult for people to get to - and where the patients will have access to the medical facilities they require when they are in a hospice. I hope that the hospice goes ahead very quickly and that it is not still on the agenda this time next year and we are still talking about it instead of being able to see it on the ground. There is $2m for the essential replacement or refurbishment of Quamby. That is long overdue. Another significant one is the creation of police "ACT Region Headquarters and North District Police" at a cost of $7m.
There really are some quite significant projects here, all of which are needed, all of which should go ahead quickly. They do raise questions about government policy and suggest that perhaps there ought to be some rethinking about aspects of government policy in connection with the planning and further development of Canberra. I believe that, if this one goes ahead, it will not be a bad capital works program. It will be an even better one if the Government agrees to supplement it with an additional $15m. That will at least ensure that a few people retain their work in the ACT, even if it does not enlarge the work force.
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