Gillman Land Sale

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:09): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: On 4 April 2016, parties to the litigation concerning the sale of the Lipson Industrial Estate settled the dispute out of court. The settlement of this litigation, which commenced in May 2014, provides the necessary clear air and certainty for the development of this significant site to now progress. Veolia Pty Ltd and Acquista Investments (trading as the consortium, Integrated Waste Services) has filed a notice of discontinuance of legal proceedings in the High Court and has agreed it will take no further legal action in connection with this matter.

Adelaide Capital Partners (ACP) is now able to work towards the settlement of Stage I of the land on or before 1 November 2016, without the uncertainties caused by almost two years of ongoing litigation. In exchange, the government has agreed to pay ACP and IWS's legal costs associated with the litigation, which in no circumstances can exceed $2.2 million in total. With this settlement, after two years of these legal proceedings, there is now finally a clear path towards the development of this land. This clear path forward includes:

the opportunity for ACP to progress stage I development of the land to settlement on or before 1 November 2016 without the overshadowing uncertainty of litigation which, if not settled, could have continued for some time. The outcome of the court processes may have been beyond the control of the state and the other parties to the litigation;

the expectation that, upon the settlement of stage I land on or before 1 November 2016, the state will receive $45 million from ACP; and

if settlement of stage I of the land is not realised on or before 1 November 2016, then the state will be free to open the land to expressions of interest and consider any offer on its merits.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: ACP and Veolia have entered into a separate contract for the sale of 20 hectares of land within Stage I. The URA and the state are not parties to that contract. As previously stated in the house, the Gillman land has been identified as a key industry area in The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide and has real potential to create jobs for South Australians. However, despite this potential, the land has remained largely vacant and underutilised. Any development of the land requires significant infrastructure upgrades at substantial cost.

The Adelaide Capital Partners proposal to develop up to around 407 hectares of the Gillman land to support economic development and jobs growth is a proposal that does not require upfront government expenditure to remediate the land. In this context, the opportunity for ACP to now progress with the development of the land is welcomed. In order to settle on stage I, the option deed preconditions must be met. These include the completion of the development plan amendment process affecting the land; the obtaining of all required planning, environmental and other regulatory requirements by ACP; and ACP having procured the deposit of the plan of land division over stage I land.

The government will continue to do all it reasonably can to progress the settlement of stage I. The first precondition concerning the completion of the development plan amendment has already occurred by gazettal on 10 September 2015. The government now looks forward to receiving $45 million from ACP upon the settlement of stage I on or before 1 November 2016 or, failing that, going to the market for expressions of interest.

The SPEAKER: I call to order the deputy leader, and I also call to order the leader for his outburst during that ministerial statement, for which he gave leave. The Treasurer.