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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 4108 ..

MINISTER FOR

Canberra Technology Park now houses spin-off companies from the Academy, synergistic multimedia companies, as well as community focussed organisations mainly in the educational and IT-related sectors.

Community focussed tenants include Canberra City Church, ACT Disability, the Aged and Carer Advocacy Service, and the Mental Health Foundation. The License Agreement allows for such occupancy subject to CIT approval. CIT has indicated it will limit such tenants to 25% of the Academy's floor space. In accordance with this, in December 2001 the Academy agreed to Blue Gum School operating at CTP on a short-term basis, allowing the school time to find a permanent site.

All Canberra Technology Park tenants, including the community focussed organisations, pay market rental and there is no discount offered to any tenants. The rent varies only where the state of space occupied is of lesser quality, as is the case with any commercial tenancy agreement. If an individual tenant requires a special fit-out to adapt the leased premises for a specific use, then this fit-out is undertaken at their cost (as it is in most commercial leasing agreements), and the agreed gross rental rate reflects this.

The Academy is obligated to pay 10% of its gross rental income to CIT as a licence fee. The gross rental income from which the 10% is calculated includes all revenue gained from tenants including revenue obtained to pay all costs associated with running the site. The percentage payable rises to 15% from 1 July 2003 for subsequent years of the agreement.

On the matters of condition of the building and maintenance, the Academy judges the building's condition as "reasonable", given that it is an old building. The Academy believes that the premises are safe and habitable for general office specifications and use. Where they have been found to be otherwise, the Academy has undertaken to make them so.

The ACT Government provided $100,000 from the 2001/02 budget for refurbishment of Canberra Technology Park. The Academy advises that last financial year it spent over $350,000 (including the abovementioned $100,000) in repairs and maintenance, refurbishment, purchase of equipment, general running costs and upgrading lifts, fire systems, and the security system.

The issue of locating community uses at CTP and at other Government-supported business facilities is being examined through the ACT Economic White Paper, with a view to ensuring that Government investment in business development remains targeted.

Education costs

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, on 14 November, Ms Dundas asked me a question about the average cost per student of extra-curricular activities in public schools in the ACT.

I advise Ms Dundas and members that, due to the variety of courses offered at schools and the individual choices students make, it is impossible to give an average cost for extra-curricular activities or elective subjects. However, schools generally request a fee for courses such as photography, ceramics and other such courses to cover the cost of the materials supplied. Consideration is given to students who have difficulty meeting the

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