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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 3271 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

they have had a change of mind. They have not been able to demonstrate what has changed. They have not outlined to this place which factors have changed their mind. They have not given any further evidence.

The government has reassessed the site and believes that this is an appropriate way to move forward with the development of the site. Acquiring it would simply place uncertainty on the marketing of all land in the ACT.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The minister's time has expired.

MR STEFANIAK (3.27): I certainly do recall the land release program Mr Corbell referred to and I also recall that some significant factors came to light after that-indeed, during the term of the current government. It is true that the block in question was sold at public auction during the term of the previous government. It was purchased to enable a discount liquor store to be built.

Subsequent to the sale, the trees on the site underwent a further evaluation and some of them were rated as significant under the tree protection legislation. The design and layout of the proposed building had to be adjusted to maintain the more significant trees on the block. Mr Corbell or someone else in this debate talked about seven trees being earmarked to go. I was shown those trees by some people and five of them were indicated as being so significant that they needed to stay.

I am advised that the design for the driveways and the turning bays on the block still impact on the drip line of the trees and earthworks on the site would cut in below the natural ground level, which would have a very serious impact on the trees drainage. It has also come to my knowledge that the Commissioner for the Environment has expressed concern about the impact on the trees to be preserved and it is highly likely that the significant trees that are being set aside for preservation on the block will be dead within five years.

The community council and other groups in Belconnen-I saw Mr Evans here earlier-have been lobbying for a land swap involving an adjacent underutilised car park. Both areas have the same land use policy. The car park is currently under bitumen and there are no conservation issues with it. There has been a widespread campaign by way of a petition in the community. I think that the car park over the road is block 9. If you look at the territory plan you will see that the block is not of an insignificant size. I drive past that area regularly at a reasonably early hour of the morning to go to the gym there and sometimes I drive past there for other reasons and I do not think that I have seen too many cars parked there. It would seem that the use of that area is not an unreasonable solution to this problem.

There are some significant trees there. One of the trees is about 400 years old. I am advised, and I am no tree expert by any stretch of the imagination, that it has probably another 200 or 300 years left to live. It is pretty old for a tree. It was probably just a little sapling in 1603 when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne in England. When it was 200 years old the steam engine still had not been introduced. One hundred years ago when it was 300 years old the Wright brothers took their first flight in a powered plane and the Chinese army discontinued to use bows and arrow.

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