Page 1197 - Week 05 - Thursday, 4 June 2020
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ACT’s leading services export, at $1 billion annually, with our tertiary and research sector contributing well over $3 billion to the economy and employing approximately 20,000 people.
The new campus is expected to generate 2,000 jobs; attract 6,000 local, national and international students to Canberra; and bring up to $3 billion in economic benefit for the ACT economy. This will facilitate innovation and growth in the defence and security industries, building on Canberra’s industry strengths and providing greater opportunities for collaboration and growth, as well as contributing to the renewal and transformation of the city south-east precinct.
Madam Speaker, this bill allows the territory to make an investment towards the university, by way of land, to secure another university here in the ACT, and also ensures that our investment is protected through conditions in the crown lease over the coming years.
This bill amends both the Planning and Development Act and the Planning and Development Regulation to create a special type of crown lease specifically for UNSW and limited to a specific precinct.
I will now take members through the main parts of the bill. The act will commence on a date by written notice on a day decided by the minister; or, failing that, will automatically commence two years after this amending legislation is notified. It was decided to displace the usual six-month automatic commencement provisions in the Legislation Act, given that projects of this scope can sometimes face unanticipated delays. The prudence of this approach is punctuated by the current circumstances of COVID-19, whereby all areas of government, business and the community are working to manage outcomes in the best public interest.
Let me go to the bill in detail. Part 2 of the bill makes amendments to the Planning and Development Act. Clauses 4 and 5 are technical amendments which allow for the Planning and Development Regulation to be amended to reflect that a lease granted to UNSW must contain certain provisions.
Clause 6 of the bill amends the “payment for leases” section of the act, which prevents the planning and land authority from granting leases for less than the market value. This amendment makes an exception for certain prescribed leases granted to UNSW, and this will allow the planning and land authority to grant UNSW market value leases for less than market value.
The next two clauses of the bill are about the restrictions on the crown lease which the government will impose. Clause 7 of the bill removes the UNSW leases from the section of the act which places restrictions on certain types of leases issued by the planning and land authority. Clause 8 inserts a new clause into the act and creates a special restriction which will apply to land forming the UNSW campus. The important elements of this new restriction include that all land dealings will be prohibited for a period of 20 years from the grant of a lease to UNSW under these provisions.
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