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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 11 Hansard (28 November) . . Page.. 3294 ..
MR BERRY (continuing):
The Bureau has 27 low maintenance sportsgrounds across Canberra, which are not required for sport use...These grounds occupy prominent locations in suburban areas and many may be better used for residential or commercial development.
On 27 June this year, in answer to a question from my colleague Mr Corbell, the minister for sport told this Assembly that that statement was a mistake-a grave one, I suspect. The big mistake was that it got out. Mr Stefaniak said:
There is nothing there that indicates that any of these low maintenance ovals are in the process of being sold for redevelopment, either commercial or residential.
While all those statements were being made and all those reassurances were being given, the Department of Treasury and Infrastructure was beavering away undertaking an assessment of all unleased ovals to assist the territory's land development and release program and to identify the current marketable situation of this unleased territory land.
Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, is there a question in there somewhere?
MR SPEAKER: There is a very long preamble there, Mr Berry.
MR BERRY: It is necessary to give a proper background, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: I will be the judge of that.
MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I could go on for another five minutes and I still would not catch up with the time that has been devoted to their answers. Back to the minister. Was the minister wrong when he assured this Assembly that these ovals were not for sale or was he just misleading the Assembly?
MR STEFANIAK: Wayne, you know that I do not do things like that. In talking about bovine excrement, I presume you mean male bovine excrement.
Mr Speaker, I have said on a number of occasions since this issue was raised in estimates-indeed, backed by the rest of the government-that we have absolutely no intention of selling and we have given a commitment not to sell any of these low-maintenance ovals, 16 of which were next to primary schools. I say that because some of them are not low maintenance anymore.
Mr Smyth: Oh, we have restored some!
MR STEFANIAK: We have indeed. There are 11 other ovals. I think that we are going over a lot of old ground here, Mr Speaker, but I am happy to do that.
Mr Quinlan: Oh, that is a pun!
MR STEFANIAK
: Do you like that, Ted? I am happy to do that for the edification of members. The government has given the commitment that it is not going to sell any of these ovals or have them developed. In fact, Mr Berry referred to a few sentences in a document that I think was before the Estimates Committee. An amendment was made
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