Page 1259 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 16 April 1991
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The concern regarding trail bike riding has been identified as a result of community consultation undertaken as part of the management planning process for Stromlo Forest. A draft management plan for Stromlo Forest is currently being written by my department. Given the concerns raised and the supporting information now available, my department has requested the ACT Territory Planning Authority to identify an alternative site for trail bike riding within the general area involved.
The ACT forests section of my department will assist in the identification of possible alternative sites by providing advice on both rider needs and site requirements. An information strategy will be developed to ensure that trail bike riders are fully informed about the proposed new site when it is identified, and that riders do not return to the practice they have had in the past of illegal use of public forest and bushland. That is a resource which is used and appreciated by many members of the population, and I think that we want to ensure that a small percentage of the population - namely, trail bike riders - do not inconvenience the vast majority of folk who appreciate our natural outdoor settings here in the ACT.
Government Vehicles
MR STEVENSON: My question is to the Chief Minister. It is not about whether one can have a ministry with a balance of power in this Assembly. It is about motor vehicles, although not the one I did not take. It is on behalf of a constituent, and he asks the Chief Minister: What is the policy for local administration vehicles to be used for personal shopping and other uses; and, also, who in the ACT is able to have the government plates changed on their vehicles?
MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, I can only speak for the ACT Government, of course; I cannot speak for the Commonwealth. So far as the ACT Government is concerned, the policy is quite clear. Publicly owned vehicles may be used for private purposes only if they are made available to senior executives who are entitled to them under the terms and conditions of their employment and if they pay their contribution towards the private running costs of that vehicle. I know of no other circumstances in which a publicly owned vehicle may be used for private purposes.
I understand that an Auditor-General's report covering the whole issue of the operation of the fleet is to be tabled today. Members will know that the first inquiry I set in place when I moved to the fifth floor 18 months ago was an inquiry into that very issue. I will be most interested in the Auditor-General's comments, as, I am sure, will you.
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