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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4721 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

Mrs Carnell has claimed that she has no intention to close or relocate any of these services, and I accept this assurance. However, I would like to see exactly what services are presently in the building and whether they are all classified as services of the Civic Health Centre. So, I do not feel that I have all the information I would like; but I accept Mrs Carnell's assurance that these services will stay within the city area, within Civic.

In debating the issue of asset sales, members should bear in mind the Estimates Committee recommendations about asset sales. The committee recommended that the Standing Committee on Public Accounts examine and report on the financial management arrangements for government-owned property and assets that are being proposed by the Government, including lease-back. The committee also recommended that a draft statement of policy on asset management be presented to the Assembly at an early date, with a view to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts reviewing that statement in time for its report to be taken up in the context of the next budget. The Government agreed in principle to the first part of the recommendation and agreed wholly to the second part of the recommendation. They agreed to prepare a draft framework and guidelines to strategic asset management for consideration by the Public Accounts Committee. It is entirely appropriate, therefore, for the Government not to proceed with any action aimed at the sale or disposal of the Moore Street Health Building until we see the framework and guidelines to strategic asset management. Not only has this proposal not been mentioned in the Assembly or any Assembly committee, but if any sale were to go ahead it would also be pre-emptive of the Government's own planning work in relation to asset management and the process that has been agreed to by the Assembly through the Estimates Committee and subsequently agreed to by the Government.

I ask members to support the amendment that is now being circulated, because what we are basically asking is that we do have this information from the Government before we, as an Assembly, are asked to look at any further concrete proposals for a sale of assets. There has been a lot of talk about strategic planning over the life of this Assembly. One of the issues that have been raised is that there is no point in going on with the charade of a policy if you essentially create a policy by actions before the plan or policy is finalised.

Mr Speaker, we need to delink the issue of asset management from the Government scrambling for ways to balance their budget. I think it is very important that the ACT does have an asset management policy in place and that members have the opportunity to actually look at it, analyse it and make decisions themselves about what they think about this policy; but, as it is, it seems very ad hoc. Not only should that policy be based on financial considerations; it should consider the social aspects of the Government owning assets, including access to community facilities. We also have to think in a strategic way about what the private sector might do with any assets that are sold and developed. These decisions should not be made on an ad hoc basis, particularly if this Government is so keen on strategic planning. I hope that my amendment will be supported by members.

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