Mr McCARTHY - 2014-02-13
The Alice Springs economy is flatlining, local businesses are shutting up shop, laying off staff and leaving town. The town council urged you to take action to stimulate the economy. Local businesses are urging you to invest in the second stage of the mall. The President of the Chamber of Commerce NT, Julie Ross, said your government has no vision; she is not the only one.
We all know the release of 33 lots at Kilgariff risks the integrity of the whole master plan suburb. When will you listen to what residents and businesses in Alice Springs – your former town –are telling you and act to create an economic stimulus in the town? When will you stop turning your back on Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is coming from a member of the former Labor Cabinet which was just a fly-in, fly-out government and would turn up occasionally here and there. Again, there are so many mistruths in this. There is a master plan for Kilgariff. It will not come to fruition for five years, and what we have done is …
Mr McCarthy: There are 141 lots.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: If you want the facts, I will tell you the facts. The first lot was to be 70 and if you wanted to get …
Mr McCarthy: There were 141.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. Member for Barkly, you have asked a question, allow the Chief Minister to answer. You are on a warning.
Mr GILES: I know my portfolios, so the first thing in the five-year period for Kilgariff was 70 blocks would be released under the same modelling we were going to use.
If you wanted the NBN to come in, the NBN people in Canberra, Mike Quigley, Labor’s mate, said you need to have at least 100 lots. We changed it to have 100 lots in the first round at Kilgariff to support local stimulation of the industry, residential construction, house start-ups, concreters, chippies and so forth.
Then the NBN, with Stephen Conroy, reneged on the deal to put the NBN into the 100 blocks. Then we took it back to the first stage, which is 80 blocks, which is being done as Stage 1A and 1B. Stage 1A is 33 blocks, which are now on the market. There were 26 initial expressions of interest before the formal expressions of interest opened, 15 formal expressions of interest came in by 11 am the first day, and if they end up all gone by Friday coming we will move immediately to 1B.
Stage 1B has already had the initial planning done. We already have the modelling and scheduling done. We will get the first 33 done, and a caveat to the first 33 says housing construction has to start within the first 12 months so we can get the residential construction going sooner, which supports economic growth in the region, supports banking and finance and so forth.
Stage 1B has a caveat which says the building has to be constructed within the first 18 months. We do not want a 12-month time frame because we might put too much of a burden on local builders. I know this stuff quite well. The first stage is 80 blocks.
Getting back to the false point of your question, we had to bring it forward, because it would not occur for five years, meaning we had a lack of housing in Alice Springs and a lack of stimulation in the residential construction market.
I could speak on this all day, continuing the false misrepresentations within the question. Perhaps there will be another question later and I can come back to it and talk more about the Alice Springs economy.
I ask people to look at the strategic plan of Alice Springs Town Council. I believe point three says the Alice Springs Town Council is not responsible for any economic activity in Alice Springs, which I find surprising.
We all know the release of 33 lots at Kilgariff risks the integrity of the whole master plan suburb. When will you listen to what residents and businesses in Alice Springs – your former town –are telling you and act to create an economic stimulus in the town? When will you stop turning your back on Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is coming from a member of the former Labor Cabinet which was just a fly-in, fly-out government and would turn up occasionally here and there. Again, there are so many mistruths in this. There is a master plan for Kilgariff. It will not come to fruition for five years, and what we have done is …
Mr McCarthy: There are 141 lots.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: If you want the facts, I will tell you the facts. The first lot was to be 70 and if you wanted to get …
Mr McCarthy: There were 141.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. Member for Barkly, you have asked a question, allow the Chief Minister to answer. You are on a warning.
Mr GILES: I know my portfolios, so the first thing in the five-year period for Kilgariff was 70 blocks would be released under the same modelling we were going to use.
If you wanted the NBN to come in, the NBN people in Canberra, Mike Quigley, Labor’s mate, said you need to have at least 100 lots. We changed it to have 100 lots in the first round at Kilgariff to support local stimulation of the industry, residential construction, house start-ups, concreters, chippies and so forth.
Then the NBN, with Stephen Conroy, reneged on the deal to put the NBN into the 100 blocks. Then we took it back to the first stage, which is 80 blocks, which is being done as Stage 1A and 1B. Stage 1A is 33 blocks, which are now on the market. There were 26 initial expressions of interest before the formal expressions of interest opened, 15 formal expressions of interest came in by 11 am the first day, and if they end up all gone by Friday coming we will move immediately to 1B.
Stage 1B has already had the initial planning done. We already have the modelling and scheduling done. We will get the first 33 done, and a caveat to the first 33 says housing construction has to start within the first 12 months so we can get the residential construction going sooner, which supports economic growth in the region, supports banking and finance and so forth.
Stage 1B has a caveat which says the building has to be constructed within the first 18 months. We do not want a 12-month time frame because we might put too much of a burden on local builders. I know this stuff quite well. The first stage is 80 blocks.
Getting back to the false point of your question, we had to bring it forward, because it would not occur for five years, meaning we had a lack of housing in Alice Springs and a lack of stimulation in the residential construction market.
I could speak on this all day, continuing the false misrepresentations within the question. Perhaps there will be another question later and I can come back to it and talk more about the Alice Springs economy.
I ask people to look at the strategic plan of Alice Springs Town Council. I believe point three says the Alice Springs Town Council is not responsible for any economic activity in Alice Springs, which I find surprising.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016