Page 428 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 March 2014
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MR COE: Minister, what guarantees have you been given regarding the development of the block?
MR CORBELL: The proponent continues to remain in contact with the government and does provide the government with updates in relation to what steps it is taking to achieve a strong commercial tenancy for the site, which is an obvious precondition for finance to be secured for development.
Economy—investment
DR BOURKE: My question is to the Minister for Economic Development. Minister, what initiatives has the government announced recently to facilitate private sector investment in the ACT?
MR BARR: I thank Dr Bourke for the question and for his ongoing interest in this matter. The government is committed to facilitating private sector investment in the territory economy. For the territory’s economy to continue growing and to continue creating jobs, there is no doubt that our private sector must grow. It must continue to attract investment from interstate and overseas to help fund the services and infrastructure that our community needs. To help encourage this national and international level investment, last month I issued two new sets of policy guidelines. These guidelines will provide companies and investors with a clear pathway about doing business and investing in Canberra.
First, the guidelines for unsolicited proposals cover the delivery of public infrastructure. Last month the government issued the partnerships framework, a new policy to support both unsolicited proposals and public-private partnerships in the territory. The framework provides clear guidance to industry and seeks to create a business-friendly environment that will support economic activity. Historically, it is fair to say that the territory government has relied on more traditional procurement methods to deliver its capital projects. But we acknowledge the innovation and service delivery outcomes that can arise from involving the expertise and capital of the private sector. As such, we are actively seeking and are open to receiving interest from the private sector, including through the delivery of PPPs.
The guidelines for unsolicited proposals cover the delivery of public infrastructure under the partnerships framework. Typically, these will be larger projects, in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. The guidelines set out the process for the government to consider PPPs and other private sector investment in public infrastructure models. These guidelines are particularly relevant given the government’s intentions to look at new ways of delivering key projects, such as the new Supreme Court, capital metro and the new convention and stadium facilities.
The second set of guidelines are the investment proposal guidelines, which cover non-public infrastructure and business opportunities. Again, the government acknowledges that there are investment and business opportunities for which the ideas, capital and know-how reside solely within the private sector. For the long-term growth of our economy, it is vital that we encourage the private sector to bring forward proposals to
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