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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 01 Hansard (Tuesday, 10 February 2004) . . Page.. 37 ..

interest to a number of local residents and, as a result, I understand that last week you withdrew the planning application by Health to extend Karralika. Minister, can you explain to the Assembly the process that the proposed redevelopment of Karralika will now follow?

MR CORBELL: I thank Ms MacDonald for the question because it gives me an opportunity to clarify the process for the information of members. As I indicated in one of my earlier answers, the government, in consultation with Mr Hargreaves, Mr Wood and Ms MacDonald as the government members in Brindabella, has sought to address some of the misconceptions and, indeed, concerns that have been raised by residents in relation to the Karralika redevelopment. I want to put it on the table that the government believes that the process now in place is a very fair and open process that should address the range of issues raised by residents.

Let me put some fact on the table, first of all. The Karralika proposal expands the alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility from 20 to 60 beds. There has been some suggestion that there will be an additional seven beds. That is not correct. It will go from 20 to 60 beds. On top of that, the facility will accommodate a significant number of children, who will be the children of people going through rehabilitation. So the actual number of people who will be in there for rehabilitation will be lower than the total bed number.

I have instructed ACT Health to withdraw its development application, which was exempted under regulation 12 of the land act, in favour of a more standard development process. What will happen is that ACT Health will go through the standard preapplication stage with the ACT Planning and Land Authority. That will involve informal consultation with immediate residents on the proposed development application. It also includes the high quality sustainable design process and will also involve consultation with government agencies, such as Environment ACT and City Management. That occurred before. It will occur again through the standard preapplication process.

Once that is done, a new development application will be lodged and will be publicly advertised for the statutory period of 15 working days. Plans will be publicly available on the development application register both at ACTPLA and on the website. All plans lodged will be publicly available. Further to that, the application will be notified publicly by means of an advertisement in the Canberra Times and a sign placed on the verge of Karralika. Immediate neighbours, consistent with the process, will receive formal notification via the mail.

I think that it is important for the government to know whether the Karralika facility is going to proceed at Fadden. For that reason, I am proposing to exercise my call-in power either to refuse or to approve the application. That will involve a referral of the development application to the Planning and Land Council for its expert advice, as is required under the planning and land acts. I will also move a motion in this place so that members of this place can express a view on whether this facility should proceed.

Once that is done, I will then determine the application and either refuse it or approve it. If I refuse the application, the government will at least know that it needs to find another site. If I approve it, the community, the government and the Assembly will know that

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