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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 2031 ..

There are also some assets funded by the lessee. The surrender provisions of the lease entitle the lessee to payment for its improvements, and $800,000 is reasonable compensation based on independent advice from the Australian Valuation Office.

Surrender of the lease will allow for recent years of neglect of the facility to be addressed and allow for the orderly implementation of short, medium and long-term planning strategies.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Corbell! There’s too much audible conversation in the gallery. If there’s any lobbying that needs to be done, can you go the lobby, please?

MR CORBELL: That will involve consultation with the whole community. It will also allow AFL Canberra to get on with its core business associated with Manuka oval and avoid further financial hardship for an important community organisation.

Mr Speaker, the valuation of land in the current lease between the oval and Launceston Street, identified in the draft Woden master plan for other possible uses, is in the order of $2 million to $3 million. The replacement value of the territory-funded assets is $5 million. Therefore, the community’s equity in Phillip oval is approximately $8 million, and the government believes it has a responsibility to protect that investment.

The social and economic importance of Phillip oval, both now and in the future, should not be underestimated. And the government believes it has a responsibility to properly deal with the community interest in this lease. The government has been provided with advice that it will cost $80,000 per annum to maintain the oval, offset by an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 of revenue. The maintenance costs have been identified in the territory’s 2004 final budget.

There will be a need to undertake rectification works to bring the oval up to the standard of an enclosed oval, following deterioration of the assets under the current management arrangements. This work will be funded as priorities are identified in the Canberra Urban Parks and Places’ budget. The government is committed to maintaining an enclosed oval for high-level competition particularly suitable for Aussie rules football. Other sports such as cricket will also be able to use the oval.

Mr Speaker, analysis undertaken as part of the development of the Woden master plan has shown that the facility will provide a very important competition venue into the future, particularly because of its ideal location. Initial assessments have shown that, in the medium to longer term, Manuka oval is inadequate for AFL needs in Canberra and it is important for the future of the sport to ensure a top-level facility is maintained. The future need for this facility has been further enhanced by the proposed developments identified in the spatial plan for residential development of a population of up to 50,000 people in the Molongo Valley.

When the concessional lease was issued, Mr Speaker, there was no intention that the territory’s assets were to be traded. The intention of the policy to lease these community facilities was to ensure that sporting organisations managed to achieve the best sporting outcomes from the facility. It is appropriate that, if the lessees of these government-

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