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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4259 ..

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These changes, while not going as far as the Government would have preferred, will make possible the continuation of leasehold interests in the Territory with the minimum of red tape and expense possible under our existing Commonwealth legislation.

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The Bill repeals section 184 of the Principal Act and inserts new provisions relating to the charge applicable to all variations of leases. The former `betterment' charge is now to be known as the Change of Use Charge.

Not only is the methodology for assessment of the charge changed by the Bill but, where the lease is held on the basis of payment of rent other than a nominal rent, provision is made for the imposition of the charge as an increase in rent payable under the lease.

The Change of Use Charge will generally be set at 75% of the `added value' resulting from a lease variation, calculated according to the method known as "Method A" - the method that applied before the City Area Leases Act was amended in 1991. This is in accord with the interim arrangement proposed by the Stein Report.

Remissions or increases of the charge will be applied in some circumstances. The remissions already in place in respect of Local Centres, and variations of leases owned by the Commissioner for Housing will continue. Any remission or increase of the charge is to be identified in a regulation. The Bill provides that such a regulation instrument has no effect until it could have been disallowed by this Assembly.

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