Page 425 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 December 2008
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MR BARR: I can assure the Assembly that it is not a 10-square-metre fit-out. In relation to the master planning processes, we can be assured that the same number of staff will be accommodated. There are two reasons for the differential between Kingston and Dickson. The first is the timing of the master planning work. Kingston will commence first and, then, at the beginning of 2009, the Dickson work will commence. And as members can see, there is a spill over into the 2009-10 financial year. That work will commence towards the end of the 2008-09 financial year, more like July.
Mrs Dunne: But one is twice as much as the other.
MR BARR: Why does it cost twice as much? Because the planning authority has previously done work in the Dickson area and this is simply to build on that work.
Mrs Dunne: Does that constitute neighbourhood planning?
MR BARR: So the level of background material that is required and background work that is required for Dickson is significantly less than for Kingston.
However, I have indicated on a number of occasions publicly prior to the election that one of the key issues to be examined here is the release and prospect of release of new sites for supermarkets in both Kingston and Dickson, with a particular focus on generating some competition in the marketplace. There is no doubt, given the particular recent rulings of the ACCC, that the planning system now needs to take account of competition issues within the supermarket retailing area and we need to provide additional sites. There is no doubt that, particularly in Kingston, given the growth of Kingston Foreshore and the associated developments that will come in East Lake, we do need to look at the release of additional supermarket sites.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (9.15): Thanks, Mr Barr, for that. Again, I make the point: in terms of good process, the government must have known that this tenancy would have to come to an end. If this work is urgent, as it now suddenly appears, the question is: why was it not in this year’s budget? This work could have started earlier. Again, had we had a proper estimates process, with officials present, things would have been different.
I would be interested to know—if the minister wants to jump up again and fill us in—whether any of the work on the previous master planning has been implemented. I can remember work being done there back when I was minister. Is that the work he refers to or is it work that has been done subsequently? What was the nature of the planning? And how much of it was implemented?
This is the whole point of doing this on the fly. We do not have officials with us; we cannot get to the full level of detail. I thank the minister for his answers in that regard. But I would also like to know when it became apparent that the Mitchell Customer Service Centre needed to be done, which meant that the funding had to be in this bill this evening.
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