Page 3076 - Week 08 - Thursday, 16 August 2018
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lessee has 48 months, or until 15 April 2019, to complete the development and obtain a certificate of occupancy.
This time frame acknowledges the scale and complexities of commercial developments and the time it takes to plan, gain approval, construct and tenant the development. The majority of commercial land sold by the ACT government has the same 48-month time frame to complete these developments.
MR HANSON: Minister, when do you expect the group centre for the Molonglo area, located at Denman Prospect, to be complete?
MR GENTLEMAN: I am very confident that that will be completed in a timely manner. I have not got the time lines directly in front of me. It is a different proposal from the Coombs shopping centre, but an exciting proposal too. I am happy to take the time line of that on notice and come back to the chamber.
MR PARTON: Minister, how did our planning system result in major new communities being built without any ability for the government to ensure any shopping facilities?
MR GENTLEMAN: As I said earlier, there are facilities within the Planning and Development Act to ensure that construction is completed in a timely manner. As for the tenancies of those buildings, that is up to the shopping centre owner. I shall say that this is nothing new in the construction of Canberra across its history.
For example, I moved into Calwell in 1989. We had no shopping centre until several years after I moved in. It was serviced by a very entrepreneurial group of young people who had the licence for the newsagency at the time. They set up a bus on the corner and they sold fast food, if you like—hot dogs, that sort of thing—tea and coffee, and newsagency requirements out of that van. Later, as they had the licence for the newsagency, they were the first to set up in the new Calwell centre.
It is not new. Unfortunately it is up to the owner of the building to ensure that they have tenants there.
Education—future strategy
MS CODY: My question is to the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development. Can the minister update the Assembly on the government’s election commitment to deliver a new strategy for the future of education?
MS BERRY: I thank Ms Cody for the question. Today I released the government’s future of education strategy, which was a result of around 18 months of big and deep conversation with the community, including parents, teachers, school leaders and other educators and experts as well as community organisations. Vitally, I wanted to make sure that children and young people had a strong voice and were front and centre, as those who would be most affected by the decisions that would be made today.
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