Page 2522 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 15 November 1989
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other effects upon the Territory. The Government's proposed inquiries and environment assessment Act combined with other elements of the proposed land use regime is designed to provide a framework within which this can take place.
The proposed Territory inquiries and environment assessment Act could draw upon many of the provisions contained in the equivalent Commonwealth legislation. However, it would be drawn up so as to allow inquiries to be conducted in relation to a range of matters which are beyond those normally regarded as purely environmental in character. The intention is to make sure that the impacts of a proposal could be examined, and that means all of the impacts of a proposal including the social and economic implications of any planning or development proposal. It is also envisaged that the inquiries would be informal in their conduct and more readily and frequently employed than has been the case in relation to the Commonwealth legislation.
Against this background, there will clearly need to be a reliable mechanism through which planning, development and other proposals can be examined in order to determine whether a formal inquiry or assessment ought to take place. An environmental advisory council could indeed perform such a role. Because the Government's vision involves a council such as this in examining much more than narrowly defined environmental issues, it may be that the title of such a body would be different, so as to reflect its broader emphasis.
Such a council, provided it comprised persons of relevant expertise, could advise the Minister responsible for the environment not only on the need for an assessment or inquiry but also on the actual intensity of inquiry or assessment that might be required. For example, a relatively minor proposal could simply involve a straightforward public environment report. On the other hand, a major initiative, such as the Territory plan itself, could warrant a full inquiry. An advisory council would provide the Government with valuable and expert advice on such matters.
A further job for a council of this nature could be to provide the Minister with advice on the adequacy or otherwise of an assessment or an inquiry into a proposal once that had been conducted. I would like to point out, Mr Speaker, that such a role would not require a council to carry out an environmental assessment or other form of investigation itself, as is implied in Mr Moore's motion. That would be left to a panel of inquiry or other body as envisaged in the Government's proposal for an inquiries and environment assessment Act.
In that context, Mr Speaker, I would also like to add that a council of this kind has to be seen to be offering impartial and independent advice to the Minister, and I
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