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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 7 Hansard (6 June) . . Page.. 1994 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

Let us look at some of the other issues which are very important. Let us remember that it was the previous government that established its own land development agency. You might not recall it, Mr Smyth, but it is called the Kingston Foreshore Development Authority. It is a statutory government authority responsible for land development at the Kingston foreshore. You yourselves established a body to do that. You also established the Gungahlin Development Authority to perform a similar role, although it has not undertaken land development itself.

Mrs Dunne: It has a very restricted role.

MR CORBELL: A very restricted role? So you want to restrict the role of the government in government land development? Is that the agenda? Is that what this inquiry is all about? If it is, just roll your prejudices on. The opposition do not have any substance to back up their request for this inquiry. Mr Smyth said it himself. He said, "I do not know whether we need to do land development." That is code for: "I want to stop this government from implementing its election commitments."

As I have stated, the government has no objection to having its proposals, once announced, thoroughly scrutinised by this place. They are important matters of policy. They deserve thorough scrutiny. To stand up in this place when the government has not announced the details of implementation and say you want to look at all these issues simply highlights that the opposition's position is about saying, "We want to take every opportunity to stop the government from implementing its election commitments."

As we have just heard, the Kingston Foreshore Development Authority, established by the Liberal Party when in government, is already a statutory government land developer. Land development is what it does. That is its role under legislation.

The government believes that land development plays an important role in our community. Land is a significant asset in our community. The government went to the election stating clearly that we wanted to implement government land development. In an unprecedented move, I have already briefed the Planning and Environment Committee on a matter still before cabinet. The committee has been briefed as far as possible and as far as appropriate.

Mrs Dunne: There was no detail.

MR CORBELL: I would challenge you, Mrs Dunne, to go to Mr Smyth and ask him whether, as minister for planning, he ever appeared in front of the Planning and Urban Services Committee? Did he ever go to the Planning and Urban Services Committee and say, "I want to brief you on the details of a bill which is still being prepared by this government to establish major reform in planning in the city"? Did Mr Smyth ever do that? No. Mr Smyth never did that. Mrs Dunne, I was not invited. I asked to come, because I thought it was important to speak to the committee and say, "This is the work we are doing. This government is prepared to be open and reasonable in the information it provides to Assembly committees." We will continue to do that.

Clearly, I am not going to divulge matters that are still the subject of cabinet consideration, and neither would you have done that when you were in government. To the extent that I could, I briefed the committee, with officers of PALM, on the work

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