Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to also thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence and the member for Gippsland for his words on this very important bill. I would like to thank all members, indeed, who have contributed to debate on the ACT Government Loan Bill. It is a good outcome for the people of the Australian Capital Territory to see the bill receive bipartisan support. I particularly want to acknowledge the contributions from the members for Canberra and Fraser who represent the people of the Australian Capital Territory in this place. I know that this is an important issue for them and for the people of the Australian Capital Territory, and we have heard them touch on some of the personal stories of those affected by asbestos in their homes in the debate today.

For many Australians, the decision to buy a home will be the biggest financial commitment they make over the course of their lives. Home ownership, for many people, is as much an emotional commitment as it is a financial one. To discover that the home you have lived in most of your life—the home you hope to raise your family in or the home that you hoped to grow old in—is infected with loose-fill asbestos is unquestionably distressing.

The remediation programme to be delivered by the Australian Capital Territory government will present the people of the territory with arguably their biggest challenge since the 2003 bushfires. Without the Commonwealth's assistance, the Australian Capital Territory's capacity to deal with this issue would have been significantly curtailed. By stepping up to provide this loan, the Commonwealth will ensure that the Australian Capital Territory government is in a position to deliver a well-structured remediation programme in the coming years. The execution of that programme is appropriately a matter for the Australian Capital Territory government.

This bill underpins the implementation of the government's commitment to the Australian Capital Territory, as announce by the Minister for Employment on 28 October 2014. The bill provides authority for the Commonwealth to enter into a loan agreement with the Australian Capital Territory for an amount not exceeding $1 billion. The bill also appropriates an initial amount of $750 million for 2014-15, with a further $250 million for 2015-16 to be appropriated through the budget appropriation bills.

The terms and conditions of the loan will be set out in the loan agreement to be concluded on behalf of the Commonwealth by the minister administering the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988, that being the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. A portfolio supplementary estimates statement for the Infrastructure and Regional Development portfolio has been tabled in the parliament. Once again I thank all members for their contributions and commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

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