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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (28 August) . . Page.. 3366 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

You might think this isn't part of the question but I'll provide it. I did not wish at this stage for the state of that public housing to be drawn into a long debate within the community about whether it should be there, how it would look and what might happen to it. That is simply the story. It is not part of that study. It has been removed from that study. That study can proceed quite comfortably with that area of the Red Hill public housing complex still staying there in its present composition.

Of course, within that, we will be doing whatever maintenance is required and can be met under the budget.

MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Pratt?

MR PRATT: You say that you will be meeting those requirements. Why have you failed to fix the many minor problems at that complex so that these premises, to quote your spokesman, "remain habitable"? When will you fix them? What's the time line, Minister, on that?

MR WOOD: I think in the answer I gave to Mrs Cross I indicated that the maintenance people who visit places establish the priority for works, and the work is drawn down when it's considered that it needs to be done. It is done within that framework that is considered. That's the story of it.

The asset management strategy spells out the difficulties of maintenance, not the least of which is that you lot whipped $20 million out of that some years ago. It would be nice to be able to spend that now.

Trees in Nettlefold Street, Belconnen

MS DUNDAS: My question is to the Minister for Planning. Minister, you were reported as saying today that we "won't be accepting the Assembly's proposal"in relation to a land swap to protect the site of trees on the corner of Nettlefold Street and Coulter Drive. Minister, is this statement an accurate representation of the government's position and, if so, what weight do you place on the passing of a motion by this Assembly?

MR CORBELL: Yes, it is an accurate statement and I always take motions of the Assembly seriously.

MS DUNDAS: Minister, you have also been reported as saying that the motion did not direct you to do anything, merely requested it. What action would the Assembly have to take before you would agree to its request, especially considering you just said that you take this Assembly seriously?

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, what action the Assembly takes is a matter for the Assembly, and I do not want to pre-empt that. However, just because the government seriously considers motions does not mean that we automatically agree with them. That was the case in relation to that particular motion.

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