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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 2 Hansard (4 March) . . Page.. 451 ..

MR CORBELL: I knew Mrs Dunne couldn't resist.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mrs Dunne has the floor.

MR CORBELL: Yerrabi 2 is a very important project for the government and, I am pleased to advise, is a project which is proceeding well. For members who are not familiar with it, the estate is bounded by Gundaroo Drive and Mirrabei Drive in Gungahlin, and adjoins the Yerrabi Pond district park and adventure playground. The estate is being developed by the Gungahlin Development Authority and involves a number of private sector partners to undertake the development work.

The design of the estate has been warmly welcomed by the Gungahlin community. In fact, it is an estate which has been very successful in light of the number of people wanting to purchase there.

All the land in the estate has been released by ballot. This is the first time since self-government that residential land of this type has been released by ballot, and it has been a very successful exercise. The first ballot attracted 129 registrations or 28 blocks; the second ballot attracted 99 registrations, or 36 blocks. I am pleased to advise that those two first ballots were completely successful, with all the land being sold.

One of the advantages of selling land by ballot, as well as allowing people to buy direct, is that people buy for a set price-they know what they are going to get if they are successful in the ballot. The land is valued at a particular price and, if you are successful in the ballot, you get to buy the land. That is a significant advantage.

I have heard many stories from people seeking to purchase homes in Gungahlin and other parts of the city, where they make an offer for a new home and then discover, down the track, that the price has gone up because the seller suddenly realises they can get more money. For first home buyers, or home buyers wanting to move into a new area, the attractiveness of being able to buy a block of land direct from the government at a set price gives them considerable certainty. They find that very attractive.

I am also pleased to advise that the Gungahlin Development Authority has received numerous inquiries from people wanting to know when the next land release will occur. When the GDA has advised them that there will be private sector land releases occurring where land can be purchased via a builder, they say, "No. I want to know when I can purchase land from the government direct."People are interested in it; there is a demand for it, and I think the response we have seen to date with Yerrabi 2 clearly highlights that.

The next stage to be brought on for sale- Yerrabi stage 2 -will consist of 90 blocks. The advertising starts on 22 March this year. An information evening was held last night. This will be an opportunity in particular for builders to buy direct from the government, because there are a number of townhouse sites. This is clearly not the sort of site which would normally be purchased by an individual home buyer or land buyer. So builders will be able to buy direct as well-and there is significant interest in these sites.

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