Page 3492 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 19 September 1990
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leasehold system which was produced in November 1988. Unfortunately, that report lay idle on the benches gathering dust in the Federal Parliament and no action was taken on the very good recommendations that were included in that report.
We saw, Mr Deputy Speaker, how the previous Labor Government, in which the Leader of the Opposition had responsibility for planning, failed to address the issue seriously and produced only incomplete drafting instructions after much pressure from me and the Rally. These were produced in September last year, quite some considerable time after Ms Follett had promised the Assembly that she would put those documents on the table. In fact, they were incomplete, because they did not address two very important issues. One, which is related to this, is the issue of appeal rights, and the other, of course, is the issue of betterment. However, this Alliance Government has quickly grasped the nettle and has provided comprehensive and complex legislation over a number of months.
Unfortunately, Mr Deputy Speaker, at least 12 months has been lost by the prevarication and lazy attitude of the previous Follett Labor Government. The new legislation which is now on the table is the subject of extensive community comment. I believe that there have been in excess of 50 - closer to 60 - comments produced on the integrated package of legislation, which is designed to legislate on planning, heritage, environment and leasing issues.
Mr Deputy Speaker, one of the key planks in the package, and one which the previous Follett Government failed to address last year, is, as I have already indicated, the provision of appeals. Clearly, all parties have long agreed that the Supreme Court is not the place to solve these problems. Not only are the costs to all parties in the dispute too high, but a more simplified process for appeals is considered much more appropriate.
This is the sort of issue that has been addressed by the Alliance Government, which the previous Government was unable to make decisions on. Clearly, it must have had some problems amongst the various factions within its party room, but I guess we will never know that - until Bill Wood writes his memoirs. I am sure that will be a very interesting book about the early history of this new parliament.
The new legislation will, of course, also provide for a proper form of environmental assessment at the time of the original application, and also allow governments to require assessments and inquiries. The development process will be ordered and balanced, and not the time-consuming, expensive and uncertain maze imposed by the current lease variation legislation.
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