The conclusions of an inquiry into a North Canberra redevelopment have been rejected as illogical and outrageous by the Canberra Conservation Council.
Some of the conclusions into Section 22, Torrens Street, Braddon, were leaked to The Canberra Times and published yesterday. The full report will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly this week.
The council’s president, Jacqueline Rees, said the inquiry, headed by former Administrative Appeals Tribunal president Robert Todd, had ruled inadmissible any queries or statements related to possible improprieties and had refused to contemplate any evidence relating to it, saying it was beyond its terms of reference.
How could Mr Todd, therefore, make any conclusion about whether there had been any impropriety or if there was any evidence of it? she asked.
The council had submitted questions to Mr Todd asking him to look at why the developer had bought the blocks next to the Housing Trust blocks in the first place and why the developer had got an agreement with the Housing Trust when there had been no public process. It had also submitted other questions, but Mr Todd had rejected the lot.
The council had then written to Mr Todd withdrawing from the inquiry, because “we have been denied the opportunity to lay essential evidence before you [Mr Todd]”.
The council’s letter said it was scandalous for the Assembly to set up an inquiry with no powers to examine witnesses and documents and no privilege.
Ms Rees said yesterday, “Mr Todd found nothing to make him suspect improper conduct. He found nothing because he was not allowed to look for anything. Given that Mr Todd had ruled out the lines of inquiry that he did, he was in no position to make any recommendation about whether there should be a further inquiry into whether there was any impropriety”.
She said the leaking of selected parts of the report before tabling showed some people were determined to manipulate public opinion and held the Assembly in contempt.
The inquiry had been designed to be a whitewash, but no-one would give it much credibility.
Independent MLA Michael Moore said the inquiry had not been able appropriately to investigate his allegations because it had not been conducted under the Inquiries Act or Land Act. These Acts give the inquirer wide investigative powers.
The Torrens Street redevelopment, and redevelopment plans generally in the area, have caused controversy in the Assembly and elsewhere over the involvement of the Housing Trust with a private developer without any tendering; treatment of nearby residents; questions over the objection process for lease-purpose variation and design and siting of the redevelopment; and the question of whether it is an appropriate redevelopment to receive Federal Better Cities funding.
The redevelopment in its original form on four former single-residence blocks has been withdrawn and is expected to be resubmitted using six blocks.
The Minister for Environment, Land and Planning, Bill Wood, has defended the redevelopment.
The ACT Chief Planner, George Tomlins, announced on Friday an extension of time for community comment on the draft variation to the Territory Plan to allow residential development at North Duffy/Holder.