Page 1326 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 August 1989
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PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE - STANDING COMMITTEE
Reference
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (11.49): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion to refer a matter to the Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Infrastructure.
Leave granted.
MR KAINE: I move:
That the redevelopment of the Canberra Times site be referred to the Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Infrastructure for consideration and report; and that the committee report by 28 September 1989.
Mr Speaker, yesterday we debated for an hour a matter of public importance which related to the Canberra Times site and the consequences of the decision that had been taken in connection with it. At the conclusion of that debate I moved a motion, the first part of which was that the Government should undertake to resolve the impasse in connection with this particular project and this particular site. That motion was unanimously supported by this Assembly. So it is clear that the Assembly would like an early decision made on an alternative course of action to see the redevelopment of that site proceed, and members accepted the urgency of having such a decision made.
Mr Speaker, in retrospect it occurs to me that there will no doubt be many sensitivities involved in making the decision how to proceed with that particular development, having regard to the fact that we have a decision by the Supreme Court in connection with it. I believe that it is unreasonable under those circumstances to put the onus entirely on the Government and entirely on the Labor Party, because that is how it will be perceived, to come forward with a proposal as to how that site might be now dealt with. It would be more appropriate for the matter to be dealt with in a multipartisan fashion. The planning committee is such a forum.
Any recommendation that the standing committee comes up with will then come back to this house, where it can be dealt with by the house in its entirety. I would hope, Mr Speaker, that in terms of the importance of this matter to this community, it would have bipartisan or even tripartisan support, or even achieve quintipartisan support, when it comes back. So that, essentially, is the basis for my motion, Mr Speaker. I would hope that it would have, as my motion had yesterday, unanimous support and that the standing committee can consider this matter and come back by 28 September, very quickly, with a recommendation as to what might be done, and have the matter resolved without further delay.
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