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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 3140 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

variation was expressed in such a way that it was possible to construe that, if the use of that other land no longer was dedicated to commercial purposes, the reason for the buffer might disappear, there is an argument, and I am told a strong argument, that the developer of the Huntley estate is entitled not to proceed with the provision of the buffer.

I accept the advice that has been given to me on that subject, namely, that the buffer is not required and that the developer is within its rights to remove the buffer; but I am concerned by the implication of that fact. It has always been my view that, where there has been in the Territory Plan designation of a certain kind - for example, that there will be residential use or in some cases, and Nudurr Drive springs to mind, a road should be designated on a particular site - people who build houses close to such facilities in the knowledge that those facilities are provided for on those sites ought not to be heard to complain later when the proposed use for those sites proceeds.

This, in a sense, is the reverse of that situation. People were clearly under the impression when they purchased houses in Tauss Place, adjacent to the land in question, that they would be able to enjoy green space adjacent to their homes in the proposed buffer zone. Whether that was quite what the variation to the Territory Plan would have led them to believe is, perhaps, irrelevant. There is no doubt at all that those who sold them the land, the real estate agents and others promoting the estate, would have made much of the existence of that buffer. It is always an attractive feature from the point of view of people who seek to buy land, and the existence of a buffer would be a matter of some attraction to those who were seeking to build there. It concerns me that the variation to the proposal should occur such that the buffer can be removed.

My advice is that the use by the Government of the only device available to it to stop this happening, which is refusal of design and siting approval for houses in the buffer, or for a road in the buffer, for that matter, would be an occasion for compensation to be payable to the developer for the loss of the land which he could have sold, and that therefore would cause us to pause on taking that course of action. However, I think the issue raised is a very important one which we need to avoid in future. It does lead us to the point of asking to what extent we should leave descriptions of what is going to happen on land in a particular precinct or vicinity in the hands of real estate agents and others who derive a commercial benefit from it. There are countless examples that have come to my attention, and perhaps to other members' attention as well, of people who have bought land with certain things told to them about what adjacent land would be used for, only to find that that was not exactly what the plan had to say. We cannot force people to read the Territory Plan, and perhaps if they did they would not understand it. Mr Speaker, I note the concerns raised by the committee and I intend to pursue with officers ways of avoiding these sorts of problems occurring in the future.

MS McRAE (12.15): I listened with great interest to Mr Humphries, and I would like to add a couple of points to the debate. When the first development was finished, which I believe was done by Rosin, the developer could not finish it until he had built the green zone. It does seem to me that it was a lot more than just real estate agents promoting the issue, that there was a very serious sign-off requirement from the initial developer. I note your concerns about compensation, but I seriously urge you to have your advisers look at it and see whether there is a compromise way through. I know that

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