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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (26 August) . . Page.. 2395 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I would like to table a letter from the Federal Minister. It would be good if copies could be distributed to all members, because I think it would be good for Assembly members to be able to read it while I quote a couple of bits of this letter. This letter was received by Mr Humphries and was from the Federal Minister for Sport, Territories and Local Government. It states that the Commonwealth will legislate to remove the impediment preventing the ACT Legislative Assembly from making laws with respect to the tenure of leases. It is quite categorical, from the Minister involved. If everybody has a copy of it they will see that this whole farce from Ms McRae is just that - a farce. Let me quote from part of that letter. That letter says:

I can confirm it is the Commonwealth's intention to legislate as stated in our 1996 Election Policy.

That is the Federal Government's election policy. The letter continues:

That policy commits the Coalition Government to supporting the introduction of 999 year leases, but also recognises that this matter is ultimately a decision for the ACT Legislative Assembly to make.

Mr Speaker, maybe it would be a good idea if I just said that again. I think many of us would remember that this was a quite large story at the last Federal election. I think there was a front-page Canberra Times story about 999-year leases. I quote again from the letter about the 1996 election policy of the coalition:

I can confirm it is the Commonwealth's intention to legislate as stated in our 1996 Election Policy.

That policy commits the Coalition Government to supporting the introduction of 999 year leases, but also recognises that this matter is ultimately a decision for the ACT Legislative Assembly to make.

Mr Smith goes on to say:

The legislation, if passed by the Commonwealth Parliament, will not automatically extend the terms of leases already issued, or the term of leases issued in future. The decision to implement longer leases is a policy decision properly left to the ACT Legislative Assembly.

That was claimed categorically in the 1996 election platform. This motion is such a huge waste of time, Mr Speaker, and is so poorly based that it is hard to believe that Ms McRae could have brought it on.

Mr Humphries has foreshadowed that there will be changes in the leasehold system eventually. Ms McRae has quoted him as saying:

Our decision -

that is, the decision of the Government -

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