Mr KIELY - 2001-10-24
Will the minister advise the Assembly on what decision the government has taken with Cawood Court Territory Housing complex in Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. I am sure you are interested in the answer as well. I found the question of Cawood Court on my desk, and I also found a brief about its colourful history. So, last time I was in Alice Springs, one of the first things I did was to drive to Cawood Court to have a look at the complex. Yes, it was a colourful history, I must admit, and I was not very impressed. I also found out that there were several proposals put in place - one was to be completely demolished, the other was to convert it, or to be given to aged people to live there.
I asked the department to provide me with the options and we considered all options, one of which was to demolish it. The estimate for demolition will be $700 000. That will come out of the Housing budget. Another option was to demolish it or to convert it to a mixture of public and private housing. There are three public housing complexes in the area, and the last thing the people in Alice Springs want in that area is another public housing complex. What we decided to do was to put it out to a private developer, and we can sell it for $1m to $1.3m. That will come into the Housing budget.
It is going to be put to a developer through an open and public tender - not a mates deal - and the money will come to Housing. I have discussed with my department what the housing needs are in Alice Springs, and the money to be spent in Alice Springs.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. I am sure you are interested in the answer as well. I found the question of Cawood Court on my desk, and I also found a brief about its colourful history. So, last time I was in Alice Springs, one of the first things I did was to drive to Cawood Court to have a look at the complex. Yes, it was a colourful history, I must admit, and I was not very impressed. I also found out that there were several proposals put in place - one was to be completely demolished, the other was to convert it, or to be given to aged people to live there.
I asked the department to provide me with the options and we considered all options, one of which was to demolish it. The estimate for demolition will be $700 000. That will come out of the Housing budget. Another option was to demolish it or to convert it to a mixture of public and private housing. There are three public housing complexes in the area, and the last thing the people in Alice Springs want in that area is another public housing complex. What we decided to do was to put it out to a private developer, and we can sell it for $1m to $1.3m. That will come into the Housing budget.
It is going to be put to a developer through an open and public tender - not a mates deal - and the money will come to Housing. I have discussed with my department what the housing needs are in Alice Springs, and the money to be spent in Alice Springs.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016