Page 2023 - Week 07 - Thursday, 23 August 2007
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MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Planning, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Minister for Industrial Relations) (8.54): I move amendment No 83 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 2065].
New clause 225A, which is about recovery of inquiry panel costs, provides that the direct and indirect costs to the territory of the conduct of an inquiry about an EIS are recoverable from the proponent of the bill and the proposal to which the EIS relates.
Proposed new clause 225A agreed to.
Clause 226.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Planning, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Minister for Industrial Relations) (8.55): I move amendment No 84 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 2065].
Amendment No 84 will omit the definition of “nominal rent lease” from clause 226. Nominal rent lease is now defined in the bill’s dictionary because the term is not limited to chapter 9.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 226, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 227.
DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (8.56): I will be opposing this clause. The Greens consider that only not-for-profit community organisations should be eligible recipients for concessional leases, and that is a view we share with ACTCOSS. Although we are not proposing any amendments today, this is one area I would be keen to revisit when the Assembly next amends the legislation.
Although it may be the government’s intention that only not-for-profit organisations receive such leases, that is not spelt out in the legislation. There should be clear non-profit tests which should be upheld at each change of hands or lease variation. ACTCOSS has a lot more to say about this aspect of the legislation in its submission to the inquiry of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment, and I commend its paper to the Assembly.
On the positive side, there have been some definite areas of improvement, such as ensuring that land with a concessional lease cannot be sold off for profit. We have seen what happens when this goes wrong, as in the case of Koomarri and the Narrabundah Long Stay Caravan Park, which is costing the ACT government and the Canberra community millions of dollars to rectify.
It would be nice if this legislation could go through a more negotiated process. I understand that the government and ACTPLA concur with some of my proposals and my officers’ proposals. If this process were slowed down even this week, some of those proposals could be taken on board before the commencement of the bill.
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