7/24/2019 Media Release Deborah o'Neill Senate Calls for Documents on the Ato Building on Gosford Waterfront

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DEBORAH ONEILL

Senator for New South Wales

27 November 2015 Media Release

SENATE CALLS OR DOC!MENTS ON THE ATO B!ILDIN" ON

"OSORD WATERRONT

The Australian Senate today agreed to Senator Deborah ONeills motion requiringthe Australian government to rovide all do!uments about the de!ision to lo!atethe Australian Ta" O##i!e building on rime $ater#ront land at %os#ord&

'The i!oni! %os#ord (ubli! S!hool site resents a $onder#ul oortunity torevitalise the !ity o# %os#ord and ma"imise the ubli! sa!e #or the !ommunity)*said Senator ONeill&

'The Senates de!ision to require the government to rovide its do!uments shouldallo$ the !ommunity to dis!over $ho $anted to lo!+ u this land a$ay #rom the%os#ord !ommunity) and $hether anyone made reresentations to !hange it&

'Our !ommunity $as romised a re!reational and arts re!in!t that $ould servethe region) revitalise the !ity !entre and !reate ,obs&

'-nstead) the Abbott.Turnbull government is going to $aste the oortunity)

handing our $ater#ront to a sele!t grou o# ubli! servants in a se!ure building)oen only to eole $ith a s$ie !ard)* she said&

The motion by the Senate in!luded an order #or the rodu!tion o# do!umentsrelating to the tender ro!ess/ all communications between the FederalGovernment and those involved in the tender process and all Ministerialcorrespondence with the NSW Government relating to the sale of the schoolsite.

The su!!ess o# the motion leaves the $ay oen #or the Senate to vote to halt thero!ess and #or sta+eholders to $or+ to$ards #inding the right site #or the ATObuilding&

7/24/2019 Media Release Deborah o'Neill Senate Calls for Documents on the Ato Building on Gosford Waterfront

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'- $rote to al!olm Turnbull as+ing him to listen to the !ommunity and lo!ate theTa" O##i!e building in a mu!h more suitable lo!ation in the %os#ord D)bene#iting lo!al retailers and the !ity !entre& The (rime inister has sho$nabsolutely no interest in meeting or dis!ussing the !on!erns o# the entral oast!ommunity&*

Sea+ing on behal# o# the government in the Senate today) Assistant abinetSe!retary Senator S!ott 3yan $ashed his hands o# the entire issue by arguingthat the !onstru!tion o# the ATO building $as nothing to do $ith the governmentbe#ore !laiming that 'The Australian government has no do!uments !on!erning!onta!ts $ith the NS4 %overnment about the ur!hase or lease o# the site&*

'That is an e"traordinary admission !onsidering that oe 6o!+ey and S!ottorrison $ere only too hay to !ome to the oast and ta+e !redit #or announ!ingthe lo!ation o# the building& 4hat this !on#irms is $hat the entral oast!ommunity already +ne$ The Abbott.Turnbull %overnment and the lo!al member

8u!y 4i!+s had no role) no inut and no interest in an imortant issue #or the#uture o# %os#ord&*

'- shall !ontinue to #ight to have $or+ halted and to demand ans$ers #rom thegovernment about ho$ this dread#ul de!ision $as allo$ed to haen& Thisbuilding) and the ,obs it brings) must be ositioned in a lo!ation that bene#its%os#ord and doesnt !lose o## our $ater#ront otions #or #uture generations&*

ENDS