Page 1789 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2011
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important. It is part of an ongoing national program. In relation to the detail of that, if the Greens are interested in a more specific briefing on that, I am happy to provide it. But it is not the sort of thing that I carry around in my head for question time.
MS BRESNAN: A supplementary?
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Ms Bresnan.
MS BRESNAN: Minister, what should assessors whose licences are expiring do until the code of practice is finalised, and when finalised will the assessors be liable for those fees from 1 March, 1 May or some time later, and how should they set their fees for clients in the meantime?
MR BARR: There are transition arrangements. The ACT Planning and Land Authority is working closely with the industry. I understand that if I had time to get the web page up there is an information page in relation to this on the Planning and Land Authority’s website and I would refer the member there for some further information in relation to this matter.
Government buildings—vacancy rates
MR COE: My question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, I refer to your plans for a half-billion-dollar office building here in the city. What is the current vacancy rate of A, B, C and D-class office buildings in the territory?
MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Mr Coe, for the question. I do not have those numbers in my head, although I did see them as recently as last week. But I must say that I did not commit them to memory. Certainly, there has in recent years, over the last couple of years most particularly, been a significant increase in vacant, most particularly C and D-grade and some B-grade, buildings. I am not aware if there is any vacant A-grade space. There must be a tiny bit within the city, but there is not much out in the town centres.
Averaged out, there is somewhere in the order of 15 per cent vacant space, driven very much by a major rebuilding program that the commonwealth has initiated in relation to building and accommodation standards which the commonwealth now insists on for its public servants, for its employees. There is a very interesting distinction now being drawn by some within the property sector, and indeed by the Liberal Party in this place. The property sector, of course, have over recent years applauded the commonwealth’s move to insist on five-star A-grade accommodation for commonwealth public servants. We have a situation now—
Mr Hanson: Do they buy it or do they lease it?
MR STANHOPE: They pay for it. We have a situation now where the vast majority of commonwealth public servants engaged within the ACT are accommodated in high environmentally sustainable A-grade accommodation—indeed, I think in excess of 90 per cent are in accommodation of that description or are to enter accommodation of that description.
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