Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2246 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

and the Government has proposed an ideas competition; but will this ever go anywhere without an overall plan? The Government has also come up with a check list against which any development proposals must be evaluated. I have to say that this is fairly weak, and I think Mr Humphries's media release on this issue is quite informative. The final paragraph of his press release, which discusses the future developments in retailing, says:

This policy does not give the go-ahead for proposed extensions to two town centres, namely the Tuggeranong Hyperdome and the Woden Plaza. But it creates an environment where the major obstacle to their extension is removed. This policy sets the framework for Canberra's retail policy - it is up to proponents to demonstrate their ability to meet the objectives of the Government.

Mr Speaker, we are calling, again, for a moratorium on the expansion of retail space until this inquiry is over. To have credibility on this issue the Government must acknowledge the importance of the level of provision of retail space. They cannot stand here and say they are concerned about small shops and then let two major developments go ahead. It appears that we do have more retail space in this town than we know what to do with, and I think the conditions under which new development should go ahead need careful consideration. It will be interesting, once again, to see how the Labor Party votes on that when we put the motion. I understand that the Liberal Party are not going to support that particular aspect of our motion so here is an opportunity for the Labor Party to say, "Yes, okay, let us support this part of the motion, at least, so that we can have a good look at the issue of the level of retail space that has been provided". We just have the Labor Party saying, "No, no, it is good. It is jobs. It is buildings". What about Jack Mundey? Is he just so outdated? He used to say, "Socially responsible building". Why do we not build things for people which are needed? What has happened to the Labor Party since those days? No, we know what has happened to the Labor Party since those days. That is why we have a Green Party coming up.

Another issue the committee could consider is the appropriateness of proponents of developments putting together their own preliminary impact assessments. The Greens believe that any proposals should be independently evaluated.

Trading hours are one important issue, and numerous reports have stressed the link between trading hours and the demise of small businesses. The Greens are prepared to support this legislation today because we believe some regulation is necessary, and the longer we wait the harder it is for some people in the ACT. A study that was reported in the Financial Review on Tuesday linked the extension of trading hours very closely to the decline of viability of small shops. Some regulation is necessary if any longer-term measures are going to work at all. It is all very well saying small shops have to become more competitive, but the playing field has to be tilted back so that they can make a go of it.

Other issues we need to look at include questions of ownership, rental issues and other longer-term measures to help our small centres. We know that the market is heavily controlled by a few major chains in the ACT, and this is only going to continue and become a bigger problem. They have a stated aim to take over the whole market.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .