Page 2135 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 June 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MS FOLLETT: That is getting a bit tetchy.
MR SPEAKER: It is borderline, but I would ask you to withdraw it. I think there is an imputation on all members.
MS FOLLETT: In view of their extreme sensitivities, I withdraw it.
MR SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr Jensen: It is parliamentary practice, Ms Follett.
MS FOLLETT: Rubbish! You are not in charge.
Mr Speaker, as was well evidenced with his Priorities Review Board report, the Chief Minister completely ignores the fact that governments exist to provide services to the community. I call on the Minister, Mr Duby, to table all documents relating to the closure of the Ainslie Transfer Station. We are yet to see any real justification of Mr Duby's mistake. If we look at the budgetary issues it is clear that the costs of this decision could be greater than the supposed savings. Firstly, there is the cost to north Canberra residents, which I am sure Mr Duby has not taken into account at all, of driving 40 kilometres to and from a tip or the cost of making alternative arrangements to have the rubbish collected.
Then there is the cost to the Government, because the Ainslie Transfer Station is, of course, used by this Government itself. Litter patrols and other Government services will now have to go a considerable extra distance to unload waste material. Either there will have to be more of them to do the same amount of work or the amount of work they do will have to be reduced. Either way, the community pays.
There is also the additional cost of cleaning up the garbage which some people undoubtedly will leave on the streets or in the nature reserves around north Canberra. There will also be the massive increase in garbage materials that will now not be recycled.
Mr Speaker, there is also the environmental cost. Again on the day after World Environment Day I would ask the Government to stop and think about the environmental cost. What have the effects been so far of this short-sighted decision? As a resident of the area, I am able to give you some indication of what the effects are. People who used to clean up their nature strip, sweep up the leaves and so on and take them to the Ainslie Transfer Station are now no longer able to do so. People I know who found it convenient to recycle at the Ainslie Transfer Station now find it easy to throw out all of their rubbish regardless of its recycling potential.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .