Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

In both cases there would be merit in having a single Minister responsible for strategicplanning in the broad, as well as the statutory planning agency to enhance the opportunitiesfor clarity of direction and alignment of effort by relevant elements of the ACTPS.Current Agency OverviewsDepartment of Land and Property ServicesLAPS was created in December 2009 with the combination of Strategic Project Facilitationfrom CMD, and ACT Property Group from TAMS. The portfolio also includedresponsibility for the Land Development Agency. LAPS is responsible for aligning andcoordinating land release and development, property management and major projects.LAPS currently reports to one Minister:Minister Portfolio FunctionsJon Stanhope MLAMinister for Landand PropertyServicesGovernment accommodation and property servicesLand developmentLand releaseMajor land and property project facilitationLand Development AgencyThe LDA’s principal function is to sell and develop land on behalf of the Government. It hasits own governing Board and is expected to operate commercially and return a dividend to theGovernment.There was a great deal of discussion during the Review about the role of the LDA. At themost extreme, the view was expressed that the LDA operates at a commercial advantage to itscompetitors in the land development market, not least because it has access to Cabinetmaterial. It was also suggested that the role of the LDA in entering into joint ventures ordeveloping land on its own exposes the Government to unnecessary risk. The counterpoint tothat view was that the LDA should continue to pursue the “developer’s profit” in sellingformed estates rather than vacant land.Another observation was that the LDA’s commercial focus risks creating perverse outcomesin refusals to sell land for community purposes, or conversely, risks adding to the costs ofhousing through pursuit of the highest price in land sales. Conversely, it was proposed thatthe LDA should sell land (which is one of the Government’s few assets), at the highestpossible price to maximise returns to the people of Canberra. The view was also expressedthat the commercial operations do not sit comfortably within the public service structures ofLAPS and are incompatible with that governance framework. In some consultations, theAdministrative Arrangements Changes: 181