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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4931 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

The ANU has not paid rates and land tax since 1994 but has continued to receive all the municipal services like everybody else, such as garbage collection, street lights, road maintenance and so on - all the sorts of services that our rates pay for. In other words, those vital services are being provided free of charge to the ANU while everyone else in Canberra picks up the tab. The ANU's rates and land tax bill is estimated at approximately $600,000 per annum, and the amount now unpaid, as I mentioned earlier, is estimated at more than $1.8m.

Mr Whitecross: What a beat-up.

Mr Berry: Anything for a headline. Just take it to the Grants Commission.

MRS CARNELL: I do not believe the subsidy to the ANU by the ACT, by the Canberra ratepayers, is acceptable. Mr Speaker, obviously those opposite believe it is all right for the ANU to go down this path. I do not believe it is. So, what are we doing about it? A service agreement has been negotiated with the ANU to address any legal constraints imposed by the ANU Act, clearing the way for this debt to be paid. However, this service agreement has not even been submitted to the University Council for consideration because the ANU is insisting that payment of this outstanding amount be linked to completely unrelated land and planning issues, mostly relating to boundaries between the ANU and Civic. These boundary issues include the land on which the Institute of Arts and the School of Music sit, part of section 21, an area next to the School of Music and the tunnel along Parkes Way. It is not as though the ACT Government is not willing to work cooperatively through these planning issues. Concerning the School of Music, the Territory is in a position to make an offer of a lease over the land. With regard to section 21, we are discussing with the ANU the impact on leases granted in perpetuity.

Mr Speaker, this boils down to the ANU using these land - - -

Mr Berry: What a cooperative bit of negotiation.

Mr Whitecross: I hope she cooperates with you like this.

MR SPEAKER: Order! This is an important matter.

Ms McRae: I am sure the ANU will thank you for letting this go on.

MR SPEAKER: I would imagine it is a matter of concern to anybody in this chamber that the money is outstanding.

Mr Stefaniak: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am having great difficulty hearing the Chief Minister because of the cackling from over there.

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, for the life of me, I cannot understand why everyone in this Assembly would not be really concerned about this. This boils down to the ANU using land and planning issues to stall on paying its own way in Canberra. We are not talking here about levying rates on the ANU campus itself. This is purely about the ANU paying rates and land taxes on its off-campus properties that it is renting in the open market.

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