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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4306 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

The land use provisions applying at the airport and, in particular, the provisions relating to the location of offices at the airport were the subject of amendment 30 to the National Capital Plan which came into effect on 29 September 2000. Mr Speaker, it seems that these provisions are not enough. The airport wants more and the NCA and the territories minister seem only too happy to accommodate them, regardless of the cost to the town centres.

I would like to take this opportunity to put on the record my position on the Canberra Airport and the Brindabella Business Park. I am not opposed to the airport and I have nothing against the owners. I wish them all the best in growing their business.

Mrs Dunne: Ha, ha!

MR HARGREAVES: I note the chuckles from one of the temporary members for Molonglo, the aspiring Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Mrs Dunne: Ginninderra. Get it right, Ginninderra.

MR HARGREAVES: I do beg your pardon, deputy leader of the opposition; it is, indeed, the electorate of Ginninderra, which is so far from Tuggeranong as to elicit an invitation from me to take you down there to show you where it is. The airport is also closer to Gungahlin, so I am surprised that you are sniggering.

I have to suggest, though that the growth at the airport and at Barton cannot come at the expense of the existing town centres. The airport should be pursuing growth in new aviation-related industries, rather than poaching existing tenants from the town centres. I would also question on defence strategic grounds the sanity of a decision to locate at a prime terrorist target defence services previously located at Campbell Park.

I note that others have entered this debate in recent months. The Canberra Times reported on 19 September this year that Mr Noel McCann, president of the Property Council, made a speech urging the government to increase employment opportunities in Civic to enhance its role as the central business district. Let me quote the article:

"We need to increase employment opportunities in Civic in order to ensure low office vacancy rates there", he said.

On the face of it, I do not have a problem with providing increased employment opportunities in Civic. Civic is an established centre with quality infrastructure and transport links. I accept that there is merit in the argument that a strong city centre will, more than likely, lead to strong regions. But I do not accept the practice of pinching tenants from Civic and the town centres and relocating them to the airport or the parliamentary triangle. I do not see how that does anything for economic development in this city. How many vacant buildings do we need in town centres before we will do something? How many small businesses in the town centres will close when the major employers pull out?

Are ACT taxpayers going to be expected to pay for the transport infrastructure to get all the office workers to and from the airport each day? Where are all these people going to park their cars? I understand that the traders in Pialligo are already complaining about

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