Page 2517 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 15 November 1989
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exacting task but it is far from impossible. As you know, many regions in Australia now expect potential developers to meet specified environmental standards. The key to competing in this climate is not to apply lower standards than elsewhere; indeed Canberra's special nature will mean that our standards will generally have to be higher. We must guarantee that our environmental assessment procedures and requirements are logical and certain enough not only to allow potential developers to comprehend them fully but also to ensure that the processes of investigating the environmental standing of a project take place smoothly and effectively.
This proposal will, I believe, lay the groundwork for environmental assessment procedures in which developers, the general public and environmentalists can have the fullest confidence. The proposal revolves around the creation of what I will call for the moment the Advisory Council on the Environment. I have called it that because the acronym for it is ACE. The original idea was to call it the Advisory Council on Heritage and the Environment. However, I felt that that acronym was just a little too painful.
The features of this council are as follows. It should be responsible to and established by the Minister responsible for the environment, with all appointments to it being made by that Minister. The council should report to and advise jointly the Minister responsible for development and the Minister responsible for the environment on the potential environmental consequences of individual industrial, commercial or other development proposals, whether those proposals involve investment by the private sector, governments or both. The council is to have a permanent core membership of five, appointed for a period of four years and chosen for their expertise in a relevant field. Two of these positions should be filled by nominees put forward by the Conservation Council of Canberra and the South East Region or the Australian Conservation Foundation, on the one hand, and either the Canberra Association for Regional Development or BOMA, on the other hand; or any other peak group agreed to in negotiations between the Minister and representatives of the industry and development sectors or the Minister and representatives of the conservation sectors.
Depending on the qualifications required, the Minister should also have the right to appoint or second additional expert members, with full rights and responsibilities, for the duration of a specific investigation or assessment. All appointees to the council should receive an appropriate level of remuneration. This is a point that has been flagged to me not only by some people in the private sector but also by the Liberals, and, if in the next week's negotiations there is some suggestion to make the position entirely honorary, I would not have any difficulty with that. The original suggestion I had in my mind for remuneration was really to cover people's expenses - rather
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