Page 2175 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 June 1990
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MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Moore, please get to your question.
MR MOORE: Yes, I am coming to the question, Mr Speaker. Considering the Chief Minister has not indicated any action by this Government in response to my question without notice of 26 April about a call from Professor Jenner for a plaque to be raised in Canberra, will Mr Collaery tell us whether he is prepared to do that or to continue with his hypocrisy of calling on the Federal Government for action while not taking any action himself?
MR COLLAERY: I thank Mr Moore for the question and I am delighted to respond to it in my own capacity. There are two issues at stake here: one is whether this Government can properly approve a monument. There is Federal legislation concerning the dedication of monuments on which the Chief Minister has been briefed that would, at this stage, require us to examine our legal right to set up any monument, bearing in mind the provisions of the National Capital Planning Authority Act and so on. This matter is before the Government at present. I am aware that the people of Adelaide have got ahead of us in that respect, but particular planning and leasing implications in the ACT are such that this Government does not, as far as I am aware, have the power freely to erect monuments in national precincts.
The second part of Mr Moore's question was whether this was evidence of hypocrisy by the Government. I think that all of us in this chamber have already endorsed - some of us did so when we were in opposition - the need for action to be taken in relation to the condition of certain temporary residents of the ACT, namely Chinese students. We have endorsed that in the past. We have been very up-front as a parliamentary assembly on these issues.
I do not believe that the China Support Group, through Professor Jenner at the Australian National University, will see that we are in any way equivocating as a government or as an assembly on the issue. I understand that there has been correspondence between the Chief Minister and at least one member of the Alliance ministry on that subject, and I believe matters are being clarified in relation to the building and approving of monuments by a Territory government in the national capital.
MR MOORE: I ask a supplementary question. At the time of my previous question on 26 April, I asked the Chief Minister whether he would keep us briefed. He replied, "No, not necessarily". I now ask Mr Collaery to keep this side of the Assembly briefed on a matter of concern to us all.
MR COLLAERY: I am sure that the Chief Minister made those comments in jest when he looked fondly across towards Mr Moore, as he usually does. But certainly you will be briefed on the matter. If I can locate the relevant
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