Page 2523 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 15 November 1989
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consider that it may be difficult to sustain that perception if the council has the principal investigatory function in relation to the actual environmental impacts of particular proposals. Similarly, I believe the value of a council would be at its highest if it comprised an expert membership which did not represent any particular interests in the planning, development or related fields. I do believe that it would be undesirable for such a body to simply institutionalise the position of groups which customarily take opposing views in relation to planning and development issues.
I am, therefore, somewhat concerned at the fairly prescriptive wording of Mr Moore's motion in regard to the membership of the proposed council. Nevertheless I take his point that it is important that all views are represented and that all views have a right to be heard. I accept that part of his motion in the spirit in which I believe he has put it forward. But, clearly, the Government itself would be required to take considerable care in developing the precise details and form of this advisory council.
In this regard it should be said that it would be inconsistent with the principles of ministerial responsibility for an environmental advisory council's recommendations to be binding upon a Minister. The Government would rather explore the scope for ensuring that the recommendations of such a council were publicly known. Therefore it would be incumbent upon a Minister to publicly justify a departure from a course of action recommended by the council.
Finally, Mr Speaker, I would like to reiterate that the very framework within which such a council could operate is currently the subject of public consultation. The Government is now receiving and considering the views of a range of groups which have commented on our proposal for a new planning and land use system. I have expressed some concerns about the possibility that Mr Moore's motion may be seen to pre-empt that process but, from Mr Moore's own comments, I am prepared to accept that this is indeed an interim arrangement.
I believe it would be premature for the Government to commit itself irrevocably to the establishment of a council precisely as proposed by Mr Moore without first having had the benefit of public reactions to its broader proposals. Nevertheless, the Government is very keen to undertake to examine urgently the establishment of an interim advisory council which could operate in advance of the commencement of the new planning and land use regime. The interim arrangement would allow the council's performance to be assessed prior to any integration of its functions within the framework of the planning and land use legislation.
To summarise, Mr Speaker, my concerns with the motion are that there is currently a consultative process under way
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