Latest news with #YvetteBerry
Canberra Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Canberra Times
'That's the priority': ACT govt reveals where new stadium sits in the pecking order
The Property Council of Australia will hold the "From Sidelines to Stadiums: The Future of Sporting Infrastructure" forum on Thursday, bringing together the likes of ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry, Australian Sports Commission CEO Kieren Perkins and Property Council of Australia ACT executive director Ashlee Berry. ACT Treasurer Chris Steel, right, says a new stadium is still in the government's plans.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Calls for government to 'get on with' CSIRO Ginninderra Experiment Station land sale after three-year delay
The lack of progress to finalise the sale of a prime piece of under-utilised land in Canberra has been blasted as "deeply frustrating", but there's assurances a deal could be made soon. Once used for agricultural research, the development of the CSIRO Ginninderra Experiment Station, a 701-hectare area of land between Belconnen and the Barton Highway, was first floated a decade ago. The ACT government entered discussions with the Commonwealth in 2022 about acquiring the site to be used for a major housing development, but no deal has been struck. Independent ACT senator David Pocock said the hold-up was baffling, urging the two levels of government to "get on with it". "This has been available for a decade, and for the last three years we have heard so much about the work that is happening, but we haven't seen anything yet," he said. "Being close is not good enough … stop pointing the finger at each other. "It is deeply frustrating to see yet another key issue for the ACT continue to drag on and be kicked back and forth between the Albanese and ACT governments." The deal currently being worked through centres around a 240-hectare portion of the site, to the east of Kuringa Drive. CSIRO accepts the land is under utilised and is undertaking studies in preparation for the future sale of the area west of Kuringa Drive, which will remain an operating research farm in the interim. ACT Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry defended the lengthy process because it was an unfamiliar and complex undertaking for the government. "It's tied up in some legal processes because it is a significant piece of work," she said. "It does have a range of environmental, cultural and heritage challenges." But Ms Berry hopes a deal would be finalised soon and said the government was "getting really close to being able to make some kind of announcement". "We look forward to getting started following our negotiations with the federal government," she said. In a statement, a CSIRO spokesperson said it was engaged in negotiations with the ACT government. "The sale of Ginninderra East could boost the supply of developable land and provide affordable, public and community housing opportunities," the spokesperson said. "Should any sale proceed, funds would be reinvested into science for national benefit." A spokesperson for federal Science Minister Tim Ayres, who oversees the CSIRO, said it was a commercial matter for the CSIRO and the ACT government. "The federal government is supportive of this proposal and is committed to building more homes, easing housing pressures and increasing the supply of social and affordable housing for all Australians," the spokesperson said. The plan to sell the land is being assessed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. About 280 hectares of the whole site will be considered non-developable to conserve areas of habitat for protected species and ecological communities. But another use for the land has been proposed. ACT Shelter CEO Corinne Dobson would like to see some of the land committed to the construction of new social and affordable homes. "Finding secure and affordable housing in the ACT is becoming increasingly difficult and that is only set to get worse unless we increase the supply of social and affordable housing," she said. "Unlocking unused and well-located land to add to housing supply in the ACT is vital."
