The government has agreed to release a swathe of documents detailing the 2014 land swap with the union-run Tradesman's Union Club, including valuations, sales contracts, and involvement of Labor ministers.
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When the Liberals and Greens combined on Wednesday to demand the documents, Labor was left with no choice but to agree, and Planning Minister Mick Gentleman said the information would be released once commercial-in-confidence and confidentiality checks had been made.
Mr Gentleman said the Land Development Agency bought two blocks at Section 72 Dickson, off Antill Street and behind the Dickson swimming pool from the Tradesmen's Union Club in 2012. One of the blocks is the headquarters of the Tradies-linked Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
The purchase had been suggested by the Tradies when it was negotiating the price it would pay for the separate carpark outside the Tradies club in the Dickson shopping centre.
"During negotiations carpark the club proposed that nearby land it owned at Section 72 Dickson could be sold to the ACT government, Mr Gentleman said.
In 2014, the government paid the Tradies $3.55 million plus GST for the CFMEU block and $45,000 plus GST for the former Downer Club site at section 7, totalling 12,201 square metres.
"The purchase of these two large blocks of land, combined with other government controlled land in Section 72 Dickson, and the possibility of securing another large block from the Salvation Army in the future, would give the government a significant urban renewal opportunity," Mr Gentleman said.
The former Downer Club site would be used for a Common Ground development, mixing affordable units and housing for homeless people. Public housing was also being considered.
While the government had exchanged contracts with the Tradies for the carpark in Dickson, for $3.18 million plus GST, settlement had been delayed and would not happen until the Coles supermarket and apartment development was finished on a nearby carpark - to ensure both carparks were not being developed at once.
The CFMEU is rent-free for 42 months at Rosevear Place. Mr Gentleman said that deal had been made because of the delay in settlement for the carpark and the cost of maintaining a vacant block. The Tradies was responsible for maintaining the site.
Liberal Leader Alistair Coe told the ACT parliament Canberrans should be "very worried about the integrity of this government".
"Whether it's the Glebe Park site, the Tradies site, the bike hire site, the paddle boat site, these deals all stink and Mr Barr has been responsible for this agency throughout," he said, referring to the Land Development Agency.
"Mr Barr has allowed cowboys to run the show and recklessly spent millions of dollars on very questionable deals. Either they were rogue deals and rogue operators and Mr Barr was negligent, or he was complicit throughout and the LDA was simply do his bidding ...
"The Labor government has secretly pumped $3.9 million into the CFMEU-aligned Tradies club in December of 2014. Now if that's not scandalous I don't know what is ...
"How did it come about? Why was there only three days between the exchange of contracts and the settlement? Why did the ACT government want to buy this site? Who initiated this sale? How did the Labor government deal with the conflict of interest that they so obviously have with this purchase? It seems that they didn't deal with that conflict of interest, they simply hoped that nobody would find out."
