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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1440 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

This is work that the National Capital Authority is obliged to do under the ACT (Planning and Land Management) Act, and that some gung-ho bureaucrats and politicians (including our Chief Minister), and business "kickers" have apparently tried to by-pass. From all accounts, the results are likely to show that Acton is not suitable for the project and vice versa.

Right now on Acton Peninsula, a perfectly good new Child Care Centre has been flattened, solid old Bennett House has virtually gone and so have the innards of the three remaining vacant buildings, the Tower Block so suitable for a range of accommodation, commercial and cultural uses in demand, Sylvia Curley House much sought after by the ANU, and the Maternity Block highly suitable for health uses similar to the extremely successful adjoining ACT Hospice.

This demolition work, although highly wasteful, has virtually eliminated the ACT Government's Acton Peninsula maintenance costs of $850,000 per annum; and the state of remaining vacant buildings is now ideal for comprehensive refurbishment.

What the ACT Government should now do is pay off the demolition contractors saving the remaining $6 million or so needed to finish the demolition plus a further $3 million infrastructure contribution to the National Museum project.

Why should the ACT risk $9 million of its own money and its highly valuable in situ building fabric on the peninsula, when the National Museum may not even eventuate let alone go there? The Kingston-Acton land swap never was a good deal for the Territory and the condition of it that the peninsula be cleared is even more a total rip-off and completely ridiculous under the current circumstances.

Yours faithfully

President, Canberra Community Action on Acton Inc.

I hope most sincerely, Mr Speaker, that these words of the community action group do not come true for the ACT and that this $7m is the beginning of a very big project, but I think it is important to have those words on record.

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