Page 1305 - Week 05 - Thursday, 26 April 1990
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that the Government review the past policy of directly negotiating the sale of sites for one-off tourist attractions with developers;
that the conservator of wildlife determine the impact of the freshwater species and organisms which do not occur locally and which are proposed to be displayed at the aquarium before any licence to import the organisms is issued;
that the Chief Minister be responsible for the assessment of the impact on the site which will be caused by the introduction of waterfowl, reptiles and other animals;
that there be an independent assessment of the aquarium operations two months after operations begin; and
that animal welfare legislation be introduced into the Assembly as a matter of priority.
Mr Speaker, the Government has considered these recommendations and is now prepared to answer them all. Concerning the first recommendation, the Government has already tabled in the Assembly its draft Land Use (Inquiries and Environmental Assessment) Bill. The provisions in the draft Bill cover the matters raised by the Assembly committee in this recommendation. Mr Speaker, our comments on recommendations 2 and 3 will need to be in line with the finally decided planning and development procedures. Recommendations 2 and 3 raise important procedural issues. For example, if an international developer has a commercial proposal, a responsible government must accept that there is a recognised place for commercial-in-confidence consideration. A novel proposal should be protected at the concept stage if that is the wish of an architect or an inventor.
Similarly, there is a correct balance to be achieved in accordance with the current discussion papers and draft Bills on planning and leasehold. As I have said, Mr Speaker, our comments on recommendations 2 and 3 will need to be in line with the finally decided planning and development procedures. Recommendation 3 is also of relevance to the question of all direct sale proposals. Clearly the Government needs to adopt an overall policy and not just one for tourist sites. Basically, these recommendations will require further consideration and will be the subject of a separate report to this Assembly.
Consultants were engaged to assess the potential impact of displaying non-local freshwater fish and also the possible impact of introducing waterfowl, reptiles and other animals to the aquarium. I will report separately on the results of each consultancy. The freshwater fish consultancy was undertaken by a senior veterinary officer of the New South
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