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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 2 Hansard (29 February) . . Page.. 379 ..
MR SMYTH (continuing):
covers leases granted for the period 1 October 1999 to 31 December 1999. I am also tabling two other schedules relating to variations approved and change of use charges for the same period.
In September 1997 my colleague Mr Humphries, the then Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, tabled a Disallowable Instrument, No. 228 of 1997, for the direct grant of land for any or all of commercial, residential, industrial and tourism purposes. In the tabling statement Mr Humphries indicated that a copy of the lease and a statement setting out why the lease was sold would be tabled in the Assembly. I would now like to table a copy of the lease and a statement notifying the Assembly of the reasons for the direct sale of block 5, section 39, Nicholls.
Mr Speaker, the lease in question is the result of an application lodged for a direct grant of land under Disallowable Instrument No. 228 of 1997. The instrument determines the criteria for the direct grant of a lease and requires the Executive to be satisfied that it is in the public interest to grant the lease. The grant of the lease is estimated to provide benefits to the Territory through expanding business in the wine industry in the ACT, creating new job opportunities, and providing a new purchaser of grapes from local and surrounding district producers. A new quality wine producer in the ACT region would positively impact on the export earnings of the Territory.
The lease was granted at a discount of 30 per cent, $195,000, of the current market value of $650,000. Mr Speaker, the Government believes that this application was processed in accordance with the criteria set out in Disallowable Instrument No. 228 of 1997 and complies with the Government's policy for direct grants.
MR SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mr Hird proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:
The importance to the ACT of tax reform to improve the Territory's capacity to deliver high quality services to the community.
MR HIRD (4.04): Tax reform, particularly the GST, the goods and services tax, has the potential to bring massive benefits not only to the Territory but also to the south-east region of New South Wales - and, most importantly, jobs. I dare say that everyone in this place looks forward to creating more jobs, more wealth. But, judging by the way the local Berry and Stanhope Labor Party is behaving, one would think that they did not want those benefits. Instead the Berry-Stanhope Labor Party has meekly trotted along behind their bumbling Federal leader, Kim Beazley.
Kim Beazley does not know where he is going or what he is doing. That is evident from what has been in the media in recent times. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. All he knows is that he opposes the GST. Even his New South Wales
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