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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (26 February) . . Page.. 485 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

new Assembly following the 1998 election. The actual development would then occur after the Assembly had agreed to the necessary variation. It would be expected to take five to 10 years before the most substantial part of the redevelopment occurred, but of course we think that some of that development will happen quite quickly.

Finally, Mr Speaker, the committee asked me to detail the advantages and disadvantages of the land swap. The advantages are quite clear. After decades of delay, Canberra will at last have a National Museum. That is a very definite advantage. It may not be where we expected it to be, but at last it will be built. The land swap will end uncertainty over the future of Acton Peninsula - again a very definite advantage. There is no possibility of residential leases limiting public access to the peninsula. We now know that Acton will be open to the whole community. While the National Capital Authority had planning control over the peninsula, Acton was worth very little to the Territory. The land swap means that, while we may not own Acton anymore, we know it will be used for a purpose that will benefit both the Territory and the nation. Acton is not lost to Canberrans; it will not be towed out to sea or somehow lost as some people have said - quite the opposite. Acton Peninsula will now be a site that all Canberrans and all Australians can be very proud of with the National Museum there. It will become an important cultural site for our whole nation.

Another real advantage will be the freeing up of land at Kingston for development. With the transfer of the Commonwealth blocks, we will have a consolidated site of 37 hectares close both to the Parliamentary Triangle and to Manuka and Kingston. That part of Kingston has the potential to be transformed from an industrial wasteland to an exciting waterfront development. We heard yesterday how we have had some 200 expressions of interest from people interested in showing us how that exciting transformation could occur.

Mr Speaker, what will the disadvantages of proceeding with the land swap be? That is another question that was asked. I suppose you could say the Territory will no longer own Acton Peninsula. The reality is that, once it was no longer used for hospital purposes, there was very little we could actually do with it. The Territory will no longer own one of the most aesthetically pleasing bits of land in Canberra. That is certainly the case, but having the National Museum on that site, I believe, is absolutely essential. The land swap will, of course, mean that the old Canberra Hospital buildings will be demolished. I know that there are many Canberrans who will see this as a disadvantage. Many Canberrans have an emotional attachment to Acton, but the reuse of the building has been ruled out by the National Capital Authority because of the need to clear the site for the National Museum.

Mr Speaker, in short, the Government believes that the disadvantages of the land swap are outweighed significantly by the advantages. We are guaranteed the construction of the National Museum; we can now move ahead with a vibrant, mixed use waterfront precinct at Kingston; and, with the construction of the museum, Acton Peninsula will again become a place shared by the whole community. I would have trouble believing

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