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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3315 ..

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I have some extra information with regard to Ms Reilly's question today about Lower Jindalee. I am advised that there are two nursing home residents still at Lower Jindalee who will move out to Ginninderra Gardens on 7 October. So there are still two left.

Ms Reilly: Do they have to pay the bond?

MRS CARNELL: I do not know. It depends. They will be subject to Commonwealth legislation, obviously, which means they will have to pay the bond if they fall into that category, I suppose, because that will be the law on 7 October.

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, with regard to a question asked by Ms McRae about the helpShop fund program, I undertook to provide more information. The background to the helpShop fund and criteria being used to assess financial support is as follows: From June to December 1996 the helpShop mobile van, with an experienced team of three small business advisers, visited every local shopping centre in Canberra. In total, 72 shopping centres were visited. At each of these 72 shopping centres each business owner was approached by a small business adviser from helpShop to offer small business advisory assistance; access to other ACT government departments in regard to planning issues, health issues, signage issues, et cetera; access to a wide range of small business materials; and referral to appropriate private sector providers, that is, things like accountancy firms and marketing and promotional firms, et cetera.

Each business owner in each shopping centre was asked to comment on what improvements they thought would be of benefit to their shopping centre. Community members and landlords were also asked for their opinion. HelpShop advisers reviewed ABS and ACT Government statistical data and then visually assessed each local shopping centre in regard to its geographic location, the strength of its surrounding markets, the age of the shopping centre, and the quality of existing infrastructure such as buildings, car parks, footpaths, landscape, lighting, et cetera. An indicative list of projects which could be contemplated to assist the shopping centre was then formulated.

The only local centres not included in this list were those that had received or are to receive major works programs through the ACT Government's precinct management program, including places such as O'Connor, Hughes and Yarralumla which have received the benefit of extensive major project works. Using that criterion, this left 65 local shopping centres to receive assistance. In the 1997-98 budget initiatives I said this:

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