Page 4334 - Week 13 - Thursday, 4 December 2014
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about ways in which we can accommodate as many people as possible in an appropriate manner that is not just sensible for the budget bottom line but also takes into consideration the human cost and the human and emotional capital that is being spent here. That, into the future, is going to serve us well as a territory if we can identify that.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Housing and Minister for Tourism and Events) (11.26), in reply: To close the debate, I would like to thank members for their contributions this morning. To reiterate the point I made in introducing the bill in the last sitting of the Assembly, this bill provides for an additional appropriation of funds totalling $762.031 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year. The government announced the loose-fill asbestos eradication scheme on 28 October 2014. That date is important because that is the date at which we offered to buy back all homes in the ACT affected by loose-fill asbestos insulation. There must be a date when we commence that buyback, and that is the valuation date; there must be one date, and that date is 28 October.
I note that there has been some commentary in the context of an expectation that house prices always rise. It is worth noting from the front page of the Canberra Times just this week that our city has seen the biggest fall in house prices in Australia in recent times. Prices, according to RP Data, have dropped another half a per cent just in the calendar month of November. And with what is anticipated from the federal government in their midyear update in the next couple of weeks and in their budget next year, further jobs will be lost in this city and more public service positions will be shipped out of Canberra. That will impact on our housing market. That impact will not be positive; it will be sharply negative. Canberrans who were here in 1996 appreciate just how sharply negative that could be.
So the government have made a determination that it will be 28 October. That is the date, and we will not be budging on that question. But I would offer the commentary, to those who are concerned about that, that house prices can fall as well as rise.
Under the scheme, the ACT government will buy homes at that fair market price. We will demolish and safely dispose of the contaminated properties and remediate the affected blocks. There will be, and there is, flexibility in the scheme to accommodate specific individual circumstances. I note that has been a consistent theme of both the committee inquiry and members’ contributions this morning. I put firmly on the public record the government’s view and the government’s position that the scheme does provide for flexibility in relation to settlement timing, alignment of settlement processes and other personal circumstances. I can only reiterate the words of the Chief Minister: the government encourages all owners to discuss their circumstances and desires with the task force. The government will maintain that approach of flexibility. We have all heard that message loud and clear.
The funds that are appropriated today are required in the 2014 fiscal year by the ACT government Asbestos Response Taskforce to commence purchasing affected homes as soon as possible. The government has listened to the community, and particularly to Mr Fluffy property owners. There is a very clear message from hundreds of people
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