Page 2527 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 15 November 1989
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particular the economic implications of the proposals.
It concerns me that this motion makes no reference to that whatsoever, and we are going to find that this council, because it concerns itself with environmental issues under its title, is going to be looking exclusively into environmental matters and saying, "It is not our job to conserve the economic implications". We are segmentalising the process of making decisions about development, and that is dangerous.
Finally I want to say that I find the process of bringing this matter up curious. The Government has welcomed this proposal and it says that it thinks it is a helpful contribution to the debate. It has not come expressly from the Government but I have to say that I have seen evidence in the last few days that Mr Moore carries some baton from the Government in his knapsack, and I wonder why this has not been integrated into the Government's own package. I would like to see the Government coming clean on what it intends to do about these sorts of things rather than having other people raise these issues.
Ms Follett: Read the paper, Gary.
MR HUMPHRIES: If the Government has the same paper, why is it not part of the Government's own paper rather than having this come up?
Ms Follett: Because it is from a private member.
MR HUMPHRIES: I want to finish by saying that I do think there are positive features of this issue and I think Mr Moore - or the Government, or whatever - does well to raise it at this stage. I hope that we can consider these issues sensibly and consider at the same time all the implications, the economic implications, and all the features of this debate that need to be borne in mind so that we can take the heat out of environmental issues and attempt to restore some balance which, unfortunately, has been very much lacking in recent Federal and local environment issues.
MR JENSEN (11.08): Mr Speaker, I rise to speak in this debate because I have some concern about the effect that the successful carriage of this motion could have on the long-term future of planning within the ACT, and on the environment for that matter. I believe that my concerns and those of the Rally, which in some respects has become a lone voice in the wilderness in this particular area, will become evident when we look closely at what the likely effect of this motion might be in the future for full and open government for the residents of the ACT.
I need not remind the members in this place that members of the minority Labor Government and the mover of this motion stood on platforms and insisted that development within the
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