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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 3524 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

housing budget. This loss will have a severe impact on our ability to house those desperately in need and to address the already unacceptable ACT housing waiting list.

The current agreement ends on 30 June next year. At the housing ministers conference on 25 October, Senator Vanstone outlined the Commonwealth proposal, which has the following elements:

the next agreement will be for five years;

funds will be indexed according to movements in the wage cost index, but there will be an efficiency dividend nevertheless;

there will be no GST compensation;

current state/Commonwealth matching arrangements of 1:2 will apply;

the community housing and crisis accommodation programs will remain tied programs; and

5 per cent of base funding will be held against performance and only paid to states and territories when they have reported against key performance measures-

I wish the Commonwealth would face up to some performance measures itself from time to time-

which are "reduction of workforce disincentives"and "attraction of private investment funds to social housing".

The Commonwealth will shortly make a formal offer to the ACT government in writing, and the ACT government will consider that.

Given the severe difficulties in housing, state and territory ministers at the conference also agreed to hold a national housing summit next year. I hope that will increase pressure on the Commonwealth.

Canberra International Airport

MRS DUNNE: My question is to the Chief Minister. Mr Stanhope, yesterday you congratulated Canberra International Airport on their well-deserved success in winning the major airport of the year award for 2002. I will take the liberty of quoting from yesterday's press release, in which you said:

This is a particularly pleasing award. It is well-deserved recognition of the hard work and investment that Canberra International Airport has put into developing the airport and its precinct.

You went on to say:

The airport won on the basis of 15 initiatives completed during the year. Particularly outstanding were the development of Brindabella Business Park and the widening of the runway to accept head-of-state aircraft.

Unfortunately, Chief Minister, not all of your colleagues have been appreciative of the owners and management of Canberra International Airport. Your colleague Mr Hargreaves recently referred in the Assembly to the owner of Canberra International

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