Page 567 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 1990
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plan and particularly how it is set out as to its fundamental ideas in the 1984 Metropolitan Policy Plan.
The environmental factors have been gone over again and again. We talk about pollution and we talk about a series of other environmental factors, use of fuel, public transport and those factors all need to be taken into account. The only way to do that is - and I go back through those inquiries to the House of Assembly and the joint parliamentary committee report - finally to have a full inquiry into Civic.
Where shall we go? Well, the first thing to do as far as an inquiry is concerned is to ensure there is a moratorium on office block development, but on no other development at all. I have never at any stage said we ought not to have other development. And should the Chief Minister, as he has suggested, be enthusiastic to get the Canberra Times site developed, then I can assure him that to the best of my knowledge, and through my contacts, nobody will object to the development of the Canberra Times site in the form of serviced apartments, or a hotel, or something along those lines.
A Member: A hotel in the current market?
MR MOORE: No doubt Concrete Constructions would not be impressed by that because they paid too much for the site when they had not been clear that they could change the purpose of their clause. So we need that inquiry and we need it conducted quickly.
There are many who would argue that we cannot conduct the inquiry because we do not yet have this legislation, the draft of which the Chief Minister tabled a short while ago, and for that reason I suggest that the inquiry should be conducted under the Enquiry Act 1938. The Enquiry Act 1938 provides many reasonable ways in which we could conduct such an inquiry. Section 3 of that states:
(1) The Minister may, from time to time, appoint a Board of Enquiry or any person to enquire into any matter in relation to the Australian Capital Territory which is specified in the instrument of appointment.
(2) The Minister may appoint any member of a Board appointed under this section to be the Chairman of the Board.
Section 4 states:
Every member of a Board and every appointed person shall in the exercise of his duty have the same protection and immunity as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.
An inquiry under this section could be a very significant and respected inquiry because it would have the same sort
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