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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 524 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

In respect of recommendations 13, 15 and 86, the imposition of a change of use charge can be altered only by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and advice from the Australian Valuation Office is final. The Commissioner for Land and Planning will have a limited role in relation to a change of use charge where "development" has increased the value of a lease. Here, the commissioner will review circumstances where the level of payment of the charge has been reassessed from the original determination as a result of a private valuation report submitted by the applicant. Disputes over the amount and payment of the change of use charge will still be heard by the AAT.

To facilitate the application process, applicants and those contemplating lodging applications are encouraged to obtain a ballpark informal estimate of the amount of added value from the Australian Valuation Office and to have this information as part of their application. In complex applications, especially those where the basis of valuation may be challenged, applicants are advised to present their own private valuations when lodging their applications. That material forms part of the application and is passed on to the Australian Valuation Office to assist in their forming a valuation recommendation.

I respond now to recommendation 20. The value of accrual accounting and its detailed reporting mechanisms will become apparent as the Government initiates further debate and discussion over the 1997-98 budget. I remind members that the ACT Government is leading the way with these financial reforms. I have announced my intention to establish a land development account, and this will be explained more fully in the budget.

Mr Speaker, in respect of recommendation 43, the renewal of commercial leases at no charge other than a small administrative fee is a solid plank of our policy platform. The Government's position was clear and was articulated to the community. Private sector investment in the ACT is indispensable to the maintenance of our standard of living and is vital to further economic growth. In contrast to those who have what I would call a nineteenth century view of the origins of leasehold, this Government sees commercial lessees paying their way in the community and providing employment as they do so. They have no less a right to security of tenure than residential or rural lessees. As a second part of his brief to examine the effect of the change of use charge being set at 75 per cent, Professor Nicholls will be considering the impact of renewal of commercial leases. That report will assist the Government to respond comprehensively to those arguments and opposing views in the Stein report.

I turn to recommendation 55. I agree that many people in Canberra are keen to have electronic access to a wide range of Government information, and that is an area we are pursuing. No doubt many of those people and some Assembly members will have visited the ACT Innovations Expo which commenced on 24 February and seen the extensive and diverse use of electronic information systems already in use. In my department there is a magnificent system called PC ACTMAP, which has the potential to show, at the push of a button, any lease or group of leases in the Territory. It can tell me the block dimensions, contours, which part of the Territory Plan applies, where the gas, water and electricity services run, and so on. I foresee that system being enhanced in the future and made available on line to the community.

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