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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 950 ..
MR HARGREAVES: I ask a supplementary question. Can the Minister advise the Assembly by close of business today of the answers to those questions and also whether there has been any down time in respect of these cameras? In respect of Belconnen interchange, can the Minister advise whether the cameras have been in working order for, say, the past six months and, if not, for what period they were not working?
MR SMYTH: I will have to ask the department for that information and, as quickly as I can provide it, the Assembly will have it.
MR SPEAKER: Questions are getting a little longer again.
MR OSBORNE: My question is to the Minister for planning, Mr Smyth. Minister, I recently received a letter from a Tuggeranong constituent about the apparent distribution of his personal information by, he thinks, your department. His letter states:
In June last year, my wife and I finalised the purchase of our unit. The sale was privately organised, as we purchased the unit from our, at the time, landlords, and the only 'outsiders' involved were the solicitors who undertook the brokerage on our behalf. Shortly after settlement, we received an envelope addressed to me personally, which contained a flyer from [a company in] Mitchell -
I will not name the company, Mr Speaker -
congratulating us on the purchase of our new property and offering a discount on [their services].
I rang [the company], to ask how they got my details and was advised that the details were on a mailing list they received. So, I rang the Land Titles Office to find out whether or not they provide vendor/buyer details to commercial companies. The lady I spoke to advised that typically, the title information on land was freely available to anyone, but not the details of purchasers. She did advise that they forward details of property sales to Actew so they can ensure that there is no defaulting on outstanding accounts by the vendor.
The writer went on to explain that they contacted your office several times last year and were assured that the matter would be investigated. However, they have received no information since October last year. Minister, can you yet explain how information of this couple's personal business affairs was apparently obtained from a government department by a private company without their permission, and when do you think your office will be able to get back to the couple about this issue?
MR HUMPHRIES
: As the Minister responsible for the Land Titles Office, I can probably answer at least part of that question. When a person purchases land in the ACT, there are a number of formal steps to be taken, one of which of course is a notice of alienation, I think it is called, which requires the parties, both the vendor and the
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