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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (28 August) . . Page.. 2950 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

deliver first-class health care for the people of Canberra, which is one of their major aspirations for themselves and their families.

Land development

MR SMYTH: My question is to Mr Stanhope in his capacity as Chief Minister and relates to the government's proposal to socialise land development. Mr Stanhope, at the Estimates Committee hearing on 23 July of this year, Mr Corbell and officials from Planning and Land Management were questioned about provisions for land development in the current year's budget. They were specifically asked about the cost of servicing land in the 2002-03 financial year. On 24 July, in an answer to a question taken on notice, there was a reference to an amount of $6.364 million provided in the 2002-03 financial year in the cash flow statement for the Gungahlin Development Authority.

Mr Stanhope, last week you and the Treasurer claimed that the land development proposal involves forgone revenue. You said, "There is no money in the budget for that, Mr Smyth. That is forgone revenue. It is forgone revenue." Mr Stanhope, can you explain how money is allocated to the Gungahlin Development Authority to include "the capital costs of infrastructure development for publicly developed land and the marketing and administration costs for publicly developed land" and yet it is supposed to be revenue forgone?

MR STANHOPE: Mr Speaker, that was a finely detailed question from Mr Smyth. I do not have the details of what Mr Corbell said or did not say at estimates. I am more than happy to look at that because I am sure that it was erudite, incredibly instructive and to the point. What I do know, Mr Speaker, is that Mr Smyth's four-pronged approach to the resolution of all the ails besetting the delivery of public health services in the ACT-

Mr Smyth: You do not like it, do you?

MR STANHOPE: I must say that I was glad to receive the four-pronged plan. I haven't finished with the four-pronged plan yet, Mr Smyth. You will be hearing a lot more about the four-pronged Smyth plan for resolving all the issues in relation to the funding and delivery of health care in the ACT. I must say that there will be a lot that we can take from it. I will take the question on notice. I do trust that-

Mr Humphries: I have to ask you to get the answer to us in due course.

MR STANHOPE: Yes, but you will not have to ask me again and use up a valuable question in doing so.

Land development

MR STEFANIAK: My question is to the Minister for Planning, Mr Corbell. I refer to your plans for the ACT government to take over land servicing in the territory. In evidence to the Estimates Committee you said that, while a private developer would work strictly to the letter of the law in delivering an agreed outcome in order to turn a profit, a government land development agency would do more, that is, it would work within the same strict financial parameters but also, in your words, achieve the broader social imperatives of the government and add an extra level of capacity. What, then, can

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