EAST GREEN RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT —
FRASERS PROPERTY AUSTRALIA
831. Hon TJORN SIBMA to the minister representing the
Minister for Housing:
I refer to the state government's
2017 partnership agreement with Frasers Property Australia for the East Green
residential development, which has delivered zero lot sales and zero new
dwellings in two years.
(1) On what date did the Department of Communities
enter into this partnership agreement with Frasers Property Australia,
and who within the government approved the agreement proceeding?
(2) Noting that
the exceptionally poor outcome of the residential development has been
attributed by the minister to ''extremely difficult market conditions'',
what market analysis was undertaken and by whom prior to the Department of
Communities entering into the agreement with Frasers Property Australia?
(3) How much
has the state government spent on this project to date, and what are the
associated items of expenditure and their amounts?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the
question.
(1) In May 2011, the then Minister for Housing in the
Liberal–National government, Hon Troy Buswell, MLA, approved the Housing Authority's purchase
of the site for $7.71 million. In September 2011, an expression of interest
was released to the market, with three respondents being invited to further
respond to a request for detailed proposal.
Australand—now Frasers Property Australia—was selected as the
preferred proponent in July 2013, and in May 2014, a heads of agreement
was executed to enable commercial terms to be negotiated
and the structure planning process undertaken. A development management
agreement between the Housing Authority and Frasers Property Australia
was executed as a deed on 24 November 2015. Western Australian Planning
Commission approval was received in February 2016 and the then Deputy Premier,
Hon Liza Harvey, MLA, turned the first sod at the site in December 2016. At the
time, the then Minister for Housing—the last of the seven housing
ministers in the previous government—Hon Brendon Grylls, MLA, said that
the government and Frasers Property Group had worked closely with local
residents and the council to ensure that East Green would add value to the
community.
(2) Market
analysis was conducted by Australand—now Frasers Property Australia—as
part of its submission for the request for detailed proposal process. The
initial launch of the project occurred at a time in the market cycle when
property values within the surrounding greenfields developments and the
existing market were declining. It is unfortunate that the previous government
was unable to progress the development when the property market was booming and
it is another example of a missed opportunity.
(3) Expenditure
so far has been $8.52 million, with $7.865 million having been used for land
acquisition and other costs, and the remaining $650 000 having been project
development and planning costs. The vast majority of that expenditure was in
the term of the previous government.