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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 7 Hansard (1 July) . . Page.. 1979 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

a number of these terms that are now reflected in my motion to the Minister for planning, Mr Smyth. He could not address them in any substantive way. All he would say was: "This is government policy and we think it's a good idea". Well, that is not a good process for public administration, and it is certainly a fundamentally flawed process when it comes to the administration of land in the Territory and the release of land from a very limited land bank.

The Government has failed even to justify one of its own arguments for rural residential development, and that is that thousands of people are leaving the ACT to go over the border. There are no figures. There is no analysis of revenue lost. There is no analysis of impact on the Territory even. So how can they make that claim, Mr Speaker?

Mr Speaker, there are very good reasons why the Assembly should revisit this issue. Yes, the Government should be able to get on and govern, but that does not mean the Government ploughs ahead and says we want to do this without any justification. They have to demonstrate their case.

The fact that they have failed to demonstrate this case and the way they have managed this process in the past means that there is an obligation on this Assembly to revisit the issue and to ask for it to be properly investigated. I commend the motion to the Assembly.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

URBAN SERVICES - STANDING COMMITTEE

Reference - Betterment and Change of Use Charge

MR CORBELL (11.55): Mr Speaker, I move:

(1) the Standing Committee on Urban Services inquire into and report on the level and charging of betterment and change of use charge with particular regard to:

(a) all recommendations of the report entitled A Study of Betterment and the Change of Use Charge in the ACT, by Professor Des Nicholls (the Nicholls report); and

(b) any other related matter.

(2) the Government not implement any of the recommendations of the Nicholls Report and maintain the current rate of 75% until the Standing Committee has reported and the Government has presented its response; and

(3) the Standing Committee report by 30 September 1999, with the Committee authorised to report out of session if the Assembly is not sitting when the inquiry is completed.

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