Page 2041 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 8 September 1992
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The location is one of the most critical things, and in this report we have drawn attention to the fact that the appropriate location, from the time of Burley Griffin onwards, has always been the centre of Canberra. I think this is the one structure that would be most appropriate. I drew the attention of the committee to the fact that it would be appropriate for us to look at other locations. I had taken some interest in other possible locations and, like other members of the committee, I came to the conclusion that they were inappropriate, certainly at this time, considering our financial constraints and the other factors that are set out in the report.
On the financial issue, it would be to the advantage of the people of Canberra that the money we are currently spending on renting property be spent on a property of our own. I say that for two reasons. Firstly, the notion that any parliament is accommodated in a rented property I find inappropriate. Secondly, we should approach this in the same way that we approach the purchase of a house. Many of us look at renting a house and say that, projecting that concept over the long term, it is a far better use of money to purchase a house. I think most people who look at this report seriously will accept the wisdom of that approach. As to the way in which the system should be built, I thought I would leave the comments on that issue to Mr De Domenico in particular and perhaps to Mr Lamont. It is something that came out of long and very fruitful discussions in the committee.
I must say also how much I appreciated the efforts of the secretary of the committee, and working with you, Madam Speaker, as well as with Mr Lamont and Mr De Domenico. People who observe the Assembly often see what appears to be some angst, but the side they do not see is when members are putting their heads down and getting stuck into the work in a spirit of cooperation. It is with delight that I point out that the report of the committee is unanimous. There is no dissenting report and there are no additional comments, and I think that makes it much stronger. I hope all members of the Assembly, reading through the report, will see the sense of it. Should members of the Assembly agree that the report be adopted and that we should begin on the provision of new Assembly premises, I hope that the same cooperative approach will continue and that all members will be able to have an input into the modifications to the building that will make the new home for the Assembly appropriate but one that is within reasonable expenditure bounds.
MR DE DOMENICO (8.07): Madam Speaker, I too am delighted to rise in support of the report. I want to echo the words of my fellow committee member, Mr Moore, and I dare say what Mr Lamont will say following me, and what you have said, Madam Speaker. There is no doubt that something had to be done. Members of the Assembly need to have modest but appropriate accommodation in order to do their job properly. There is no doubt that members' staff also need modest but appropriate accommodation to do their job properly, as do the secretariat and the media. More importantly, if we can find a building that the public and community of Canberra can use and call their own, so much the better.
There is no doubt that that building had to be something that was already owned by the ACT Government, somewhere appropriate within the Civic area, close to other government offices, and also accessible to the public, particularly those members of the public who are disabled in one way or another. I am delighted to be able to say that we unanimously agreed that every individual group in the
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