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The firm behind a multi-million dollar unsolicited bid to redevelop Canberra Technology Park in Watson donated $12,000 to ACT political parties in the weeks before the 2016 election, including $10,000 to ACT Labor. The company, the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, has been the main tenant on the site formerly home to Watson High School since 1996, running courses in computer game design and development. Since 2014, the Academy has been pursuing redeveloping the Watson block into a higher education facility with student accommodation, through an unsolicited bid process put to the government. But academy chief executive, John De Margheriti, said he only gave Labor $10,000 after realising he had probably given about the same amount to the Canberra Liberals over a number of years before the 2016 election. Mr De Margheriti said he believed all major parties should be better funded to get their policies out, and when he realised he had given the Liberals' a $2000 donation in the weeks before, and up to $8000 in tickets to fundraisers over a number of years prior, he "raced to equalise the issue". He also claimed he regularly donated funds to a number of non-political causes including sponsoring children through World Vision and donations to several ACT colleges and games industry bodies. Canberra Liberals' director Zac Lombardo said the party had disclosed all such donations including the $2000 donation, and a total of $1500 in donations from Mr De Margheriti directly in 2016-17. ACT Labor secretary Matthew Byrne said the $10,000 donation the party received was "unsolicited", unrelated to any fundraising drive or event, and he had had no contact with the company as a result of the donation. A spokeswoman for Chief Minister Andrew Barr has confirmed the then-Cabinet agreed the unsolicited bid could go ahead to stage two in the bid process, with the firm lodging a formal business case in 2015. But a key barrier for the academy remains the government ownership of the land, which the company would need to buy in order to redevelop the site. While Mr De Magheriti said the company lodged the detailed business case in July 2015, it seems little action was taken for two years, until the government late last year called for public input on similar proposals for the site. He said the proposal was currently to retrofit and "revitalise" the existing buildings, build student accommodation and carparking and help grow the games and film industry in Canberra. Mr De Magheriti said it would be subject to extensive community consultation, including forming a local advisory committee, should the government seek tenders and the academy was successful. Mr Barr's spokeswoman said the government had not yet decided if it would approve the bid, instead seeking community input on the broader idea for redeveloping the block, which is across the road from the Watson shops. She said if the community backed the broad idea, including "higher education and [an] enhanced community precinct" and student accommodation, than the government would offer the land for sale through a request for tender. She said the government took "deliberate steps" to take into account the community's views on the proposal, and that as no decisions on the potential sale had been made yet, it would be "premature to consult on specific details of a proponent's proposal". This Friday, March 16, is the final day the government is accepting submissions.

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