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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 11 Hansard (28 November) . . Page.. 3309 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

The second lease was granted to the Defence Housing Authority over block 1, section 81, Bruce for development of housing for defence personnel. In December 1999 the ACT and Commonwealth governments jointly announced a major expansion of defence housing in Canberra that will see $200 million invested in new properties to meet the needs of the Australian Defence Force.

This acquisition and construction program complements the decision to expand the Defence Force College in Weston Creek and to co-locate the three service staff colleges there, at a direct cost of development by the Commonwealth of $28 million, placing added pressure on DHA to provide additional housing at short notice.

In recognising the importance of the Australian Defence Force as a major employer in the ACT, the ACT government has agreed to assist the program by initially providing land in Stirling for 50 dwellings and a site in the Huntley Estate in Bruce for 10 dwellings, by direct grant at current market value. The residential rental market in the ACT is very tight, with limited opportunities to rent or buy suitable houses for defence needs. The site of this lease was previously identified for hand-back to the territory, from the Huntley Estate, for public housing. ACT Housing no longer requires the site. The land is being sold to DHA at market value. The Australian Valuation Office has determined the value of the land at $480,000.

The third lease was granted to Harmony Corporation Pty Ltd, the nominee company of Ansett Australia Ltd, for block 2, section 75, Greenway. The lessee will provide a purpose-built, state-of-the-art 130-seat call centre for Ansett Australia in the Tuggeranong Town Centre. Ansett Australia has chosen the ACT as one of only three strategic sites in Australia to establish new facilities for its expanding call centre operations. The other two sites are located in Tasmania and South Australia. This first stage of development will create 50 new jobs and ensure the retention of the existing 120 jobs in the ACT. Ansett further propose to acquire additional adjoining land to expand this facility to a 390-seat call centre over the next five years, which will create an additional 220 new jobs.

The grant of the lease forms part of a business incentive package approved by the government. The retention and creation of the new jobs will establish a significant employment and skills base in Tuggeranong which in turn will provide economic benefit to the town centre businesses and other local areas. The land is being sold at market value. The Australian Valuation Office has determined the value of the land at $650,000.

As I have outlined, I believe that there will be significant benefits to the territory to support the redevelopment of Deakin Oval by the Deakin Croatia Football Club. The social and direct economic benefits to the territory justify a direct sale of land to enable the club to upgrade its existing facilities and provide the residents of Deakin with improved public open space, better pedestrian access to the Deakin shopping centre and additional car parking.

I also believe there will be significant benefits to the territory to support both the Defence Housing Authority and Harmony developments in the territory. The economic benefits justify a direct grant of land to enable DHA to meet its expanded housing program and, in the case of Harmony, to enable Ansett to expand its call centre capabilities.

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