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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (12 November) . . Page.. 3461 ..

MRS DUNNE (continuing):

It is lighthearted, Mr Speaker, but it goes to the serious problems this government has, and to this government's grave incapacity to achieve anything on behalf of the people of the ACT. In saying that, I would like to look particularly at the planning portfolio, where, over the year, we have seen a flurry of activity.

I disagree with my leader on this. There has been a flurry of activity in planning. If it were not for the activity in planning by Mr Corbell, there would have been no activity by any part of the government. He is the outstanding, star performer. However, as I said before, we need to look at the quality-not just the quantity-of what has been done.

What Mr Corbell has done in many cases is a bit like a curate's egg. With all curate's eggs, they are good in part. The spatial plan is good-that is, if it gets the right result-but the process is something that should be encouraged. Like all members opposite, I have encouraged people to participate actively in the development of the spatial plan.

While we are developing the spatial plan-one of the things recommended by the OECD-every other aspect of the OECD report on Canberra as a renaissance city has been cast aside. This is a government with no vision for the centre of Civic, despite the recommendations of the OECD, which are always much vaunted when it comes to the strategic plan. There is no strategic plan for Civic. "There is no strategic plan for Civic, and we don't want to talk about it."

There are lots of strategies and many plans. There is consultation, there are community information nights and there are media plans. These have ground down the people of Canberra who are interested and have a desire to participate actively in the planning process. Community groups across this town have complained to me, and to others, that they are utterly ground down with the new type of future shock which might be called consultation overload.

I turn back to one of the themes raised by Ms Dundas-housing affordability. As Ms Dundas mentioned, this government has said a lot about housing affordability. It has huffed and puffed. Ms Dundas raised a great litany of shortfalls in the area of welfare housing and crisis accommodation which have not been met by this government in any of the portfolios.

On top of that, we look at the process being undertaken by this government in the area of land development. What do we see? Even if you are not so unfortunate as to be in demand for welfare, what will happen? If you want to buy a house in this territory at the moment, then you go into a ballot for the only available land in the ACT.

By their own recommendation, the starting price, which would be $85,000, has suddenly ballooned to $147,000. No first home owner, no young, aspiring, freshly married young couple, can possibly afford to buy a block of land for $147,000. Everything this government does to promise housing affordability comes to nought when the base price of land in this territory is $147,000.

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