Page 4179 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 21 September 2010
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first of these is concessional leases—that is, leases deemed under the bill to be concessional. The new definition of concessional leases is in new section 235A, clause 4. As I have said, it is not possible to transfer such leases without government consent.
The second category, market value leases, comprises leases deemed to be market value leases. A market value lease is not subject to the restrictions that apply to concessional leases. The new definition of market value leases is in new section 235B, clause 4. The new definition relies on the list of lease types in part 5.2 of the new schedule 5 inserted by clause 37. This list is based on the already existing list of leases exempted from the definition of concessional leases in the planning and development regulation.
The third category, possibly concessional leases, includes leases that might or might not be concessional. This new category is intended to serve as a warning that the lease might prove to be concessional if further research shows that the lease was in fact granted for less than market value and is therefore a concessional lease.
The new definition of “possibly concessional leases” is in new section 235C, clause 4. The new definition relies on the list of possibly concessional lease types in part 5.3 of the new schedule 5 inserted by clause 37. A prospective purchaser who looks at a lease and decides that the lease is a possibly concessional lease has two options. The purchaser could research, or ask the seller to research, whether the lease is in fact concessional. Alternatively, the purchaser could ask the seller to apply for an ACTPLA declaration as to the concessional status of the lease.
In addition to setting up these three categories, the bill establishes a number of key principles for their operation. These principles are made clear in the new sections 235A, 235B and 235C in clause 4. These categories and lists make it possible for purchasers of land and others to tell whether a lease is concessional or at risk of being concessional by looking at the lease itself.
Madam Deputy Speaker, in putting forward this bill I am mindful of the theoretical alternatives. Some might suggest it would be simpler and more effective to just get in there and examine all the relevant leases and label them concessional or not concessional. This option, while superficially attractive, is not really a practical option at all. I am advised that it would take several years to complete the required examination of the large number of relevant leases. Besides taking too long, there would be considerable expense involved in this process.
I believe this is an issue that needs to be addressed now, not in several years time. Some might suggest that we simply pick a date—for example, 1992—and deem all leases prior to this date to be not concessional. Again, this option, while superficially attractive, in reality is not a realistic option. It is not an option because such a blanket approach would inevitably cause a large number of currently concessional leases to be converted to market value leases with significant open-ended loss of community benefits. The bill before the Assembly therefore represents an appropriate balance between the need to preserve the concessional status of relevant leases and the need to put in place a reliable and simple means for identifying them.
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