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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 12 Hansard (25 November) . . Page.. 3703 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

case. So, certainly, there has been an exchange of letters. I am sure that Mr Stanhope would be aware, and I am sure that Mr Humphries is too, that that has contractual power in itself.

Mr Stanhope: So you do not have a new lease?

MS CARNELL: No, that is not what I said at all. I said that as far as I am concerned there have been exchanges of letters at ministerial level agreeing to the extension of the lease to 2024, based upon the agreement that we had already announced in this place. Mr Speaker, an exchange of letters at ministerial level, with an agreement from the Commonwealth to that extension, in itself has contractual power. I will find out for members what has happened with regard to the lease post that exchange of letters.

MR STANHOPE: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. I look forward to the Chief Minister's response and whether or not we do have a lease post 2009. Can the Chief Minister confirm whether or not the Government, prior to the redevelopment of the Bruce Stadium, sought the prior consent in writing from the Australian Sports Commission for the redevelopment as required under the current lease? Given that there is no apparent provision for compensation to the ACT for undertaking the redevelopment, who will own the improvements when the sublease terminates in 2009? Will they revert to the ASC?

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, as I have said, we do have an agreement for the lease through to 2024. Now, I would have to say that that sort of a lease time is quite significant. The depreciation on those improvements over that period of time would, I assume, have been complete. Mr Speaker, the Federal Government is quite clear. It does not want Bruce Stadium handed back to it in any way. It wants the ACT Government to continue to run and to operate Bruce Stadium. The first upgrade of Bruce Stadium was conducted by the Labor Government under Rosemary Follett.

Mr Corbell: We did not spend money illegally.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Settle down.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, the first upgrade, involving quite a number of millions of dollars, was done by the Labor Party, under - - -

Mr Stanhope: Yes, legally.

Mr Corbell: We didn't do it illegally.

MS CARNELL: Oh, Mr Speaker!

MR SPEAKER: Order! It is not necessarily a criticism, I do not think, that the Chief Minister is making.

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