Page 566 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 1990
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And then quoting him:
Given the number of other development applications I think the Alliance Government clearly has to consider the need for an overall directional environmental decision for Canberra city. And you can be assured the Government won't be making any decision on the Canberra Times site or any other individual applications of that nature until we have resolved those issues.
Mr Collaery: So why grandstand with an MPI?
MR MOORE: No, not at all. We will just take it to an appropriate conclusion. I have just started, thank you Mr Collaery. In tabling the draft legislation on the inquiries and assessment Bill the Chief Minister has also put forward a series of ideas in his statements which are quite appropriate. They indicate the need for us to look at the development of Civic and its impacts socially, its impacts economically and its impacts environmentally. If we wait until this legislation goes through before we institute such an inquiry, then clearly the developers will not know where they are and what will happen is that any further development in Civic will take even longer. That is one of the complaints that is coming from developers at the moment.
So why should we look at an environmental statement? Why should we look at a social and economic inquiry at a time when there are a series of developments pending? Why should we go for a moratorium on office block development? I have no intention of repeating some of the reasons that have been stated clearly in this Assembly by me and by others for some time, because I presume that members can either remember, or if they wish they can look them up in the Hansard, the reasons why we should need an environmental impact statement. But I think we must take into account the economic costs that have been drawn attention to - costs in terms of infrastructure and transport on the one side, and on the other side costs to the general economy in Canberra by having developments withheld or delayed.
I speak specifically of delay of developments like the Canberra Times site, which has been delayed for two years. This could well be the case also with sections 18 and 19 in Braddon on Northbourne Avenue, as these are the developments that I have lodged intention to contest. The social factors that need to be taken into account, of course, are those that talk about the quality of life in the ACT, and they are tied very much to the decentralised town centre plan. The quality of life is far greater for people who do not have to spend something like six or seven or eight hours travelling to and from work each day. That is part of the quality of life - being able to live near where you work and being able to shop appropriately. Quality of life comes with adherence to that particular
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