Page 1678 - Week 06 - Thursday, 20 May 1993
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Madam Speaker, Mr Humphries incorrectly stated that the lessees were offered a further one-year lease in this department's letter at that time. The correspondence was in fact notifying the lessee of the variation of the annual rental only. This does not constitute a lease offer. The lessees were quite aware that the lease was only continuing on a quarterly basis. In fact Mr Koutsoukos's letter of 18 March 1992 to the department says:
Our lease expired in December 1991 and at the present time we are currently on a quarterly tenancy.
Madam Speaker, the funds to redevelop the Woden bus interchange were made available through the One Nation package. The then Minister for Land Transport, Mr Bob Brown, wrote to my colleague Mr Terry Connolly on 23 December 1992 stating that urban public transport projects would be granted $340,000. ACT Public Works immediately employed consultants to design and document improvements to the Woden bus interchange as a possible project for this funding. Once the consultant's report had been completed ACT Public Works notified the Department of the Environment, Land and Planning that the redevelopment of Woden interchange was to proceed and that the lease over the kiosk should be terminated. The department then gave Mr and Mrs Koutsoukos the three months' notice, which, as members are aware, occurred in a letter dated 7 May 1993.
Madam Speaker, I issued a media statement yesterday advising that officers from the Chief Minister's Economic Development Division and the Department of the Environment, Land and Planning had met with the lessee, and as a result of this meeting and subsequent discussions I have ordered an urgent re-examination of the proposed redevelopment of Woden bus interchange. I have asked the Minister responsible for leasing, Mr Wood, to revoke the notice ending the lease. The lessee can therefore continue to operate his kiosk on the same basis and rent which had previously applied. This arrangement will continue whilst the re-examination is carried out. The re-examination will encompass every aspect of the redevelopment, including its commercial component, and the views of all parties will be considered. I expect this review to be completed by the end of the month.
Ginninderra Creek Bridge
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, I have an answer to the second part of a question which I took on notice from Ms Szuty relating to whether the upgrading of Ginninderra Creek bridge was considered as an alternative. The answer is that the extent of the problem is too large to be corrected by immediate minor repairs, and continued use of heavy vehicles is likely to cause further damage. As a result, the load limit was placed on the bridges. It is expected that remedial work on these bridges will be undertaken as a high priority in the new financial year. The limit will apply until the bridge repair work is completed, which will take approximately six to eight months. Madam Speaker, an information leaflet was delivered to all residents of Companion Crescent advising them of the reasons for the temporary traffic arrangements.
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