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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 10 Hansard (14 October) . . Page.. 3111 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

It is important to propose this disallowance today, because it gives the Assembly the opportunity to send a clear signal that we will work to protect and uphold the principles of the Territory Plan, that we will work towards restoring integrity to the administration of the leasehold system in the ACT and that we will work to safeguard the vital formal and informal open space network of Canberra, a system which makes our city unique.

I will now address the two key reasons why the Assembly must act to disallow this flawed proposal today. The first of these is the appropriateness of allowing a change to a concessional lease to provide for residential purposes and some associated issues. The Federal Golf Club's lease is a concessional lease, granted for the purposes of a golf course and other ancillary uses relating to golf. The lease purpose clause is further reflected in the land use cited in the Territory Plan for this site, which is restricted access recreation. The lease has provisions which allow members of the public to access the course for walking and other passive activity when the course is not being used for tournaments. The club pays rent of $7,000 a year approximately for the land, and the ancillary uses allowed under the lease provide for a hotel/motel for golfing purposes. Any proposal to construct a hotel or motel would have to be consistent with the Territory Plan.

The club's lease was granted at a concessional rate, as it was deemed to be in the public interest to discount the value of the lease to ensure that a golf course was provided in the area. As a fundamental principle of the leasehold system, the only rights the club has in relation to the land are those conferred by the lease - for example, for golf and related activities. The club does not have any presumptive rights to develop the land for any other purpose. That is a right which can only be exercised by the Territory.

The trend since self-government has been, regrettably, to allow the conversion of these types of leases to provide for residential development. Developments at the Yowani, Belconnen and Capital golf courses have been permitted, as have developments at the Canberra Women's Bowling Club in Kingston and the Canberra Bowling Club at Forrest. This trend has emerged as concessional leaseholders have sought to realise the inherent value of their leases, many of which are now located in established, sought-after locations, by converting them partly to residential use and returning the profits to the organisation. It is a trend which has brought a windfall gain to the concessional leaseholder at the expense of the community, which granted the lease at a discounted rate. That type of transfer of subsidy the Territory cannot afford.

The level of betterment proposed to be charged for the development of the Federal Golf Club is, I understand from evidence presented to the Urban Services Committee, 75 per cent on the newly issued residential lease. This allows a windfall gain to the club and is in direct contradiction to the recommendations of the Stein inquiry into the administration of ACT leasehold, which recommended that there be no remissions - I repeat "no" - for concessional lessees who proposed changes to a lease purpose clause which added value to the land and were for a purpose different from the original grant.

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