Page 1312 - Week 05 - Thursday, 31 May 2007
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commissioned by this audit, which took into account various scenarios of mixed uses, including direct factory outlet use. Further, as it was not the government’s policy intention to allow a major town shopping centre on the site, it is unlikely that the said land would have achieved a value as much as $60 million, as has been suggested by some interested parties.
The sale of block 8, section 48, Fyshwick generally conformed to the government’s strategic planning policy intentions to the extent that it allowed increased diversity and flexibility of general retailing and obtained a specific planning outcome intended for the EpiCentre development on section 48, namely a significant bulky goods facility. The sale was also consistent with perceived consumer and industry demand for bulky goods and other retailing opportunities. Audit did not examine and form a view on the impact of the approved Austexx development on ACT retail hierarchy.
I table the government’s response to the Auditor-General’s report and the three audit recommendations. I will deal with those recommendations in turn. Recommendation 1 states:
The LDA should develop and implement specific probity plans and risk management plans covering all stages of all major land sales it undertakes.
The government’s response is that it agrees in principle with the recommendation. Risk management processes are already embodied in the Land Development Agency’s documented sales procedures. In this context, the Auditor-General’s report noted:
LDA has sound policies and procedures for the sale of land that are generally in accordance with good practice principles observed in other jurisdictions.
The LDA had a probity plan for the call of expressions of interest to select shortlist bidders and there was no requirement for a probity plan for the commercial auction, which was conducted in accordance with the agency’s land sale policies and procedures. The government will, however, review these procedures to take into account the audit recommendation.
Recommendation 2 states:
For major Government land sales:
• LDA, as the Government’s vendor, should act as a single point of contact to process all inquiries from, and dissemination of information to, interested parties about the sale, planning and other key regulatory matters.
The government again agrees in principle with this part of the recommendation. The LDA acts as a point of contact for the government in its dealings with land sales. However, it is not feasible for the LDA, as the vendor, to respond to each kind of technical inquiry that may be made by interested parties during a sales process. It is important that the role of government land vendor is kept separate from that of the regulator to ensure that the separation of statutory functions is maintained at all times. This is a well-documented policy in other jurisdictions, such as New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
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