Page 1469 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 7 May 2008
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believe about this site. Yet back in the government we do not have recognition that this site is perceived—seen, believed—by the community to be part of their buffer zone, the hills, ridges and buffers that protect each of the various satellite towns that we have here in the ACT.
That is why today the opposition feels obliged to put on the table the Projects of Territory Importance Bill. We want this project to go ahead on an appropriate site. The site the government has chosen is not appropriate.
I have lived in Canberra for many years, as have many people in this place. I believe in this city and I believe in its potential—what it offers to those who live here and to those who visit the nation’s capital. As I and many others have said for a number of years, we have got a lot going for us in Canberra. But we do need to diversify and strengthen our economic base if we are to develop into a soundly based economy—not, as this government believes and acts to make reality, one based solely on the sale of land and the transactions concerning those sales.
Ideally, we need to take advantage of the factors that are in our favour—a good supply of suitable land, an educated workforce, good access to a number of services and infrastructure. The philosophy of the bill that I am presenting today is to ensure that our economic future is as sound as it can possibly be and that we ensure that we do not lose projects of economic importance because of unexpected factors impinging on the planning processes and, in this case, the government’s incompetence when the impact of these factors could result in a project proponent deciding to take their project away from the territory.
The current imbroglio over the proposed data storage centre project near Macarthur with an associated peak load gas-fired power generation plant is a case in point. This will be a major project. It will involve capital investment of potentially up to $2 billion. It will provide a facility that is particularly well suited to the Canberra environment. It will utilise, in most cases, existing services such as electricity, water and gas that are readily available to businesses located in the ACT. In sum, this project is an important project for Canberra and for the ACT and the region.
Information that I have obtained indicates that the project will reduce the carbon footprint relative to the existing extent of our impact on the environment. It is a project that is eminently suitable for the ACT if it is on the correct site, but a number of issues have been identified in relation to the initial site chosen for the project.
This project has been planned for a site in the district of Tuggeranong on Mugga Lane, adjacent to Macarthur and to the Mugga Lane disposal area. When the planning for this project commenced, I understand that various sites were available and that the appropriate assessment and evaluation processes commenced. At a later stage in the planning for this project, it became evident that there are some concerns about the chosen site.
Of particular relevance to this project is the fact that, since the original planning processes started, an alternative and I believe eminently suitable site has become available in Hume. This site appears to have the characteristics that make it virtually
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