Page 4083 - Week 13 - Thursday, 6 December 2007
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It’s therefore disappointing to see that deals have been done behind closed doors and in a situation where it ensured that no one else was able to compete because the LDA has failed to release any alternative sites.
The process for the sale of the QEII site was also flawed in that a prime commercial site in the city was never advertised for sale …
This process must never be repeated.
We have seen another admission of the government’s failure in relation to commercial land release; with the announcement of the release of section 63, they were at great pains to demonstrate how open a process this was going to be—how it was going to be an open auction rather than the closed-door activities, lack of advertising and tied to a totally unrelated development in Gungahlin that took place with QE II.
Through its changes to the way that it is going to release future sites, the government has finally acknowledged the fact that this was a flawed way of releasing commercial land. We have seen significant increases in the demand for commercial land. Once again, the government has been very slow to respond to that increase in demand.
Whether it be commercial or residential land release, this government has failed to deliver. Industry has suffered, but most importantly the young families of Canberra have suffered. The Liberal Party, the opposition, believe in competition in the market as a way of moderating prices. This government has deliberately stifled competition. We believe that a genuine, responsive land bank is not just possible but essential. The government have given up on it.
In a press release talking about aged care facilities, Ms Gallagher said that land shortages are also behind the bottlenecks in the system—that there have been delays in releasing land but that should be resolved soon. We have a government that is six years into its tenure but is still not able to coordinate a land release policy in such a way as to facilite sufficient aged care facilities in the ACT.
What a disgraceful situation. We have one minister essentially blaming another portfolio for the failure in the provision of aged care in the ACT. What an unbelievable situation when we have the Deputy Chief Minister essentially having a go at her colleagues and highlighting what is in fact the truth of the situation. The truth of the situation is that this government has failed in its land release policies, whether in the commercial area, the residential area or—as stated by Ms Gallagher and confirmed by Ms Gallagher—when it comes to the provision of aged care facilities. There can be no doubt that this government has failed in this area. There can be no doubt that many Canberrans—whether it is those seeking aged care accommodation, young families looking to buy their own home or those in industry—have suffered as a result of this flawed policy.
We believe in competition in a market as a way of moderating prices. This government has deliberately stifled competition. We believe that a genuine, responsive land bank is not just possible but essential—and this government has given up on it. We believe that this government has failed comprehensively with its land
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