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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 6 Hansard (22 May) . . Page.. 1583 ..

Ms McRae: You change them; go on.

MR HUMPHRIES: We are about to. You watch us. We get two different cries from those opposite. They say that we are not going to do anything. When we do, they say that they are going to be there to attack us. That is the typical response we get from those opposite. All I can say to you is, "Do not make any plans for any media splashes late next week because we will be dominating the airwaves with the launch of our retail policy". I have no doubt that it will be very controversial as well. People will have a range of views about this, and there will be considerable disappointment by some who see a vested interest being upset. But the fact is that we have collected the information; we have done our homework; we believe that we are now in a position to make a decision about that retailing policy.

As I say, the solution is simplistic; but it also ignores the very important point which arises from the proposals to expand centres such as the Woden Town Centre and the Tuggeranong Town Centre. (Extension of time granted) The fact is that those two developments between them amount to something of the order of $150m worth of investment in this city. Using the formula that Mr Moore stated in this place a few days ago, we are looking at over 1,000 jobs - some permanent, some temporary - created by those developments. If anyone in this place is in a position to say that they are prepared to dismiss that opportunity for 1,000 jobs, then I think they are extremely foolish. There is, of course, the point that some jobs created in town centres come at the expense of local centres. That is a very important point. That is why the Government's policy, to be announced next week, will distinguish between the nature of jobs created in town centres and those that operate at the moment in local centres. I think Ms Horodny would be well advised to wait until she sees that before she makes a comment.

I wish to respond to a few other points that Ms Horodny made. She asked, "Who pays for the upgrade around redeveloped town centres?". Essentially, the premium from the improvement in those areas, the gain that is made by those centres, albeit by way of betterment and albeit by way of simply buying the dirt, produces a benefit to the community which, in turn, the community can use to pay for some upgrades. In the case of things like the Woden Town Centre, for example, there is a direct link between what they will be doing and what they will be spending directly on things like the Woden Town Square to upgrade the quality of community infrastructure. They will directly pay for that as a part of that process, but the Government will pick up some of the things in a direct sense. I remind members that, when anybody goes into a local centre, a group centre or a town centre, the Government picks up associated costs because citizens wish to use those centres. It is not rational to say that because they are expanding we should not facilitate public infrastructure around them to make sure that people can use those centres once they are expanded.

As I have indicated, there is a range of complex issues at work here. This Government's response to those issues has been more carefully worked through than has the response of any previous government. Our response, I believe, will be a very significant change of direction from the activities of previous governments. It will not be as blanket and unsubtle as to say - as the Greens have done - that we should close town centres at 6 o'clock at night and ban any expansion of town centres for five years.

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