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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 4837 ..

Ms McRae: Being polite enough to listen most of the time.

MR MOORE: The nice part is, Mr Speaker, as Ms McRae says, that she is actually here listening, unlike many of my other Assembly colleagues; but we will bring them back down in a minute.

Mr Speaker, it seems to me that we have to be very careful not to send a message to anybody, and to make sure that the message is not sent, that they have a right to a particular piece of ground that is not theirs for this particular use. I hope that representatives of Lend Lease will take note of that. Mr Speaker, since I tabled those documents, Lend Lease has written to me and has asked for a time to meet, which I am delighted to do. I will be happy to listen to them. Nevertheless, I am going to make it very clear that it is my perception that, when a lease is granted for car parking, it is granted for car parking. I want to make it clear, as a second perception, that, if the community considers it entirely appropriate that that area be developed for something else, then it should go to public auction or through an expressions of interest process, where it is not narrowed to a particular interest.

I am not picking on Lend Lease. I am talking generally. In all our town centres, why would we allow control of our town centres by one particular group? It is entirely inappropriate, Mr Speaker, unless it is the market forces that do it. In this case, we have land that we own that we have leased to Lend Lease for the last two years in order to run a car park. If we decide that it is appropriate to have a further expansion in terms of retail space, then it is appropriate for other would-be interests in the market to say, "Yes, I am interested in that. I will put up my hand. I am prepared to bid for that". That is how we get the best return to the Territory, because we are the landlord.

Not only do we get the best return to the Territory, but we also get competition. For the driest economic rationalists amongst us, competition is the most appropriate way to ensure the healthiest return. As a general rule, I think that having healthy competition is the right way to go. It is appropriate for us, in some circumstances, while we have competition, also to put into that competition just a few regulations and barriers, to ensure that we do not go completely down the competition line. That tends to be what all members of the Assembly have been involved in. We have different views sometimes about where those barriers should be. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to regulate to protect those who have difficulty protecting themselves. Indeed, Mr Speaker, I would argue that amongst those who have difficulty protecting themselves are those who are in small supermarkets in the suburbs.

Ms McRae: And what are you going to do to make the shoppers go there? Just what are you going to do to make me shop at my local shopping centre?

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, Ms McRae asks what I am going to do to tell people to go and shop in their local centre.

Ms McRae: Pass a regulation?

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, Ms McRae listens, but unfortunately she does not hear, or she does not understand - one of the two.

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