Senator David Pocock and stakeholders at the CSIRO Ginninderra site in May. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The ACT is negotiating on a much smaller quantity of CSIRO land in Canberra’s north than previously thought.
Homes and New Suburbs Minister Yvette Berry revealed in question time last Thursday (18 September) that the ACT Government was only trying to acquire the 240-hectare eastern portion of the 700-hectare CSIRO Ginninderra site.
It had been assumed by everyone from industry down that the ACT was negotiating on the acquisition of the entire site, not a little more than a third, raising expectations from property and community stakeholders of a housing windfall.
Both the Commonwealth and the ACT Government had done nothing to dispel this notion until now.
The clarification came when Independent MLA Thomas Emerson asked Ms Berry if the ACT was negotiating for the entire site or just for Ginninderra East after she had previously told Estimates that the Suburban Land Agency’s estimated housing yield was 2984 dwellings for only that part of the land.
Mr Emerson then asked Ms Berry why the government wasn’t negotiating to purchase the entire site to address the Territory’s housing crisis, given the Legislative Assembly had just agreed to legislate the human right to housing.
Ms Berry would not rule out a further purchase but said the smaller piece of land was all the Territory could manage at this stage.
“It doesn’t preclude future negotiations with the Federal Government for the second part of that site,” she said.
“It is quite a big area to be providing more homes on and quite a significant amount of work.
“We couldn’t do it all at once, and this is the negotiation that is happening for the eastern part of the site.
“I probably can’t go into more detail than that until it’s finalised.”
The other Independent MLA, Fiona Carrick, asked Ms Berry if a sale would be completed by the end of the year, to which Ms Berry replied she would let her know when she had something more to say.
The CSIRO Ginninderra site is in two sections. Image: CSIRO
Asked when it had been decided to only buy Ginninderra East, an ACT Government spokesperson told Region that it was CSIRO’s decision to only sell a section of the land available.
“CSIRO was only seeking to divest the eastern portion at this point,” the spokesperson said.
“The ACT Government understands CSIRO is undertaking further work to understand Ginninderra West’s development potential.”
The spokesperson said that if CSIRO chose to divest Ginninderra West, the Territory would be interested in acquiring the land.
Mr Emerson queried why both governments had not been clearer about land purchase.
“There’s been a lot of interest in the development of the underutilised land at CSIRO Ginninderra since the idea was first mooted a decade ago,” he said
“Given the level of public interest, why didn’t either party disclose sooner that they’ve only been negotiating for a subsection of the site, rather than the whole thing?
Mr Emerson, who has criticised the ACT Government for not yet developing a business case for the land, said the government needed to move quickly on multiple fronts simultaneously to address the housing shortage.
He said the full 701-hectare site had space for up to 8100 dwellings, which is more than a quarter of the ACT Government’s target of 30,000 homes by 2030.
“This is a great location that’s close to two town centres. It’s incredibly disappointing to learn that the government is settling for under 3000 new homes, and couldn’t commit to getting this deal done before the end of the year,” Mr Emerson said.
“Canberrans facing homelessness and housing insecurity need both levels of government to show greater urgency in tackling the housing crisis.”
In July, Finance Minister Senator Katy Gallagher told independent Senator David Pocock, who had been lobbying for the deal to go through, that she had approved the sale in February, without mentioning the size of the land parcel.
“I have met with the ACT Government to discuss this issue, and I am working closely with Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Science, to ensure we reach an outcome that delivers for the people of the ACT,” she told Senator Pocock in an exchange of letters.
“I understand that CSIRO and the ACT Government have been progressing the outstanding matters regarding the disposal, and that finalisation appears to be close.”
But the matter continues to drag on.
Comment was sought from Senator Gallagher.
