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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 8 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2261 ..

MRS DUNNE (continuing):

housing starts are falling as a result? Given that as recently as this morning you joined with your colleague the Minister for Planning to talk up the government's land release program, and given that there seems to be a discrepancy of about 1,000 blocks between what you are claiming to have been released and what the industry can find to build on, can you tell us exactly how many blocks were released to the building industry since 1 July last year?

MR STANHOPE: No, I cannot. I might say that I met with the chief executive of the Master Builders Association this morning, David Dawes, and I discussed this issue and a range of other issues with him, as I do on a regular basis. Certainly, I am aware of the views of representatives of the building and development industry about land supply.

I am aware of the debate around the adequacy of the land release program under your government prior to the last election, and certainly as indicated in your last planning. And I am very aware of the views of the building industry and the Master Builders Association that your land release program was totally inadequate and has actually now left the territory in a situation where there certainly are enormous pressures in relation to the housing industry.

I am aware very much that the builders and developers of Canberra take very grimly the extent to which you failed them in the appropriate planning of land release. I am aware that they are very conscious of the fact that you let them down grievously.

I don't know the numbers. My colleague Mr Corbell, as Minister for Planning, perhaps could have given you a more succinct answer in relation to the specifics of the question you asked. But, in terms of the generalities, yes, I am aware of the concern and debate within the community about land release and about the number of sites, and, in a discussion with Mr Dawes this morning, one of the issues that we discussed was land release, the availability of-

Mrs Dunne: That's what they're saying.

MR STANHOPE: Well, it comes to this point: the availability of greenfields land and the number of sites that have been made available-for redevelopment, inner city development, consolidation, dual occupancies, and certainly the availability of raw land in greenfields sites.

So, as I say, if you want the specifics then ask the relevant minister, namely the Minister for Planning. In terms of the generalities, I am aware of the issue, I am aware of the extent to which the development industry and lobby are most concerned at the state that you left the land release program in. And I am very aware that Mr Corbell has moved to increase significantly the number of sites that are available for the development of dwellings, both new greenfields sites and redevelopment sites. And we need to be clear in our terminology here. There is an interchange amongst everybody participating in this debate of the word "blocks" and the word "sites". We are talking about sites, of course, and that is why I say it includes redevelopment sites, dual occupancy sites-

Mrs Dunne: Dwellings-no, I'm talking greenfields. You can talk about-

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