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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 13 Hansard (27 November) . . Page.. 4817 ..

Aged-care facilities

MR CORNWELL: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Planning, Mr Corbell. Minister, in this Assembly earlier this week you stated in a discussion about aged care that your government had "now approved beds at both Calvary and Garran for new facilities, land has been granted, and that work is under way". I visited both of these sites at lunchtime yesterday. Not a soul around, not a sod turned; just pristine trees and grasses.

Have you, Minister, in stating that work is under way misled the Assembly or are those more unfulfilled promises by this Labor government to aged care?

Mr Hargreaves: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: the question was: has the minister misled the Assembly? I think that is unparliamentary and should be withdrawn or rephrased.

Mrs Dunne: On the point of order, Mr Speaker: in the past you have ruled that a question like "have you misled the Assembly"is not out of order; it is not an assertion; it is a seeking of clarification.

MR SPEAKER: It is open to the minister to respond, and he is going to.

MR CORBELL: No, Mr Speaker, I haven't because I think any commonsense reading of that answer would suggest that what I was saying was that planning work was under way to ensure the sites were developed. If you read "work"as meaning construction work, that is your view of the world, Mr Cornwell. The government is keen to see construction work commence on those sites as soon as possible, and that is why we are undertaking the necessary planning work, including at Calvary the requirement under the land act for a preliminary assessment, so that development can commence.

MR CORNWELL: I have a supplementary question, Mr speaker. Thanks for that, Minister. As soon as you know, would you advise me, and I don't expect you to do it now, obviously, because you have just indicated that planning work is taking place, when work is intended to begin-I am talking about foundations and that type of work- on these two sites?

MR CORBELL: Mr Cornwell would have to ask the Little Company of Mary that question. It is their development.

Belconnen markets-Aldi supermarket

MR STEFANIAK: My question is to Mr Corbell as Minister for Planning. Minister, I am aware that you received a briefing from the proprietor of the Belconnen markets, as indeed did the opposition, and that at that briefing you were advised that the Belconnen markets would cooperate in handing back their recent grant of land in order to allow it to be granted to Aldi. At the briefing you were also told that another-

Mr Hargreaves: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: that is the subject of a standing committee inquiry at the moment and I seek your ruling that it is out of order.

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