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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 5122 ..

MRS CROSS (4.37): I support the motion moved earlier by Ms Tucker which states in part:

the failure of the previous and current governments to take a strategic approach to the provision of community services and to accommodation for those services in the sale of land (section 56) to the Queensland Investment Corporation, the replacement of the Griffin Centre, and the subsequent design process.

The Queensland Investment Corporation has banked the land for years. Approximately five years ago section 56 was sold to the Queensland Investment Commission for $14 million. At the moment the land is conservatively valued at $45 million. The land was sold to the Queensland Investment Commission in order to build a new Griffin Centre. The amount of money lost in stamp duty and interest is phenomenal only because former governments did not take a strategic approach to the Griffin Centre replacement project.

The Griffin Centre, which acted as a focal point for community run services that are aimed at helping marginalised people, should again be doing the same thing. It is important to have a centrally based facility that assists marginalised people to maximise the help that they receive. The government must ensure that any new centre accommodates as many of those services as possible. Until those accommodation issues are resolved the government should not sign off on any designs for the Griffin Centre.

More important than the provision of the Griffin Centre is the need to accommodate community run services for marginalised people in an appropriate and proper setting. I support the motion moved by Ms Tucker and I am keen to ensure that the government provides accommodation for community run services for marginalised people before the commencement of the new centre.

MR WOOD (Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Minister for Arts and Heritage) (4.39): I listened with interest to Mrs Cross's severe criticism of the previous ministry. I would not make those same criticisms.

Mrs Cross: What minister did I criticise? Whom did I criticise?

MR WOOD: The former government and the former minister were responsible for all the matters to which she referred earlier.

Mrs Cross: I do not think the minister was listening. He was too busy talking to Mr Corbell.

MR WOOD: I have some sympathy for the specific comments made by Ms Tucker about the Griffin Centre. However, I advise the member that the points that caused her concern have been well and truly covered. This motion is entirely unnecessary. Why would I agree to such a motion when this project is under way and things are happening? The government is confident that it, like no other government before it, has addressed the issues and initiated a process to ensure a strategic approach to the provision of community services and accommodation for those services.

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