Page 2584 - Week 09 - Thursday, 8 August 1991
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incorporated in Australia, particularly as we talk about cities and the need for sustainable cities, if you like, as we have already seen here in Canberra. So, there are two points, Mr Speaker.
In closing, I had the fortunate experience of attending, with my colleague Mr Duby, an ANZEC conference in Sydney some two years ago. It is a good forum and I think it is an appropriate forum in a society that is now more aware of environmental issues. It is a forum in which the Government of the ACT should fully participate. I am very pleased to see that Mr Wood, as the newly appointed Minister for that role, has taken on that task. I am sure that he will take it on with alacrity and do us proud.
MR STEVENSON (11.55): I felt that I should rise to comment on some of the matters that have been brought up. First of all, I refer to ceiling insulation and whether or not it should be compulsory. In Victoria the major change is that now it is compulsory to install ceiling insulation. Prior to that it was a universal practice to install insulation in the ceiling if it was not going to be easy to do it later on. The penetration of insulation in ceilings in Victoria is well over 90 per cent. In other words, the people of Victoria will look after ceiling insulation, but they do it at a time when they feel they can afford it. I do not feel that in that particular case government intervention was required. The people were doing the job nicely and when they felt they could afford it.
Mr Jensen: What about raked ceilings, Dennis?
MR STEVENSON: I will say it again for Mr Jensen's benefit. In Victoria, when you are unable to easily have insulation installed after the house is built - there is practically no home in which you cannot install ceiling insulation afterwards - - -
Mr Jensen: I can take you to many homes where that cannot be done. My place is one.
MR STEVENSON: I realise that it may be difficult. The point is that those homes were already insulated. The homes where insulation was easily added later on were left to the members of the household, when they felt it should be done and could best be afforded.
Mr Collaery: But they are too cold to think.
MR STEVENSON: I agree that Canberra is not the only cold place in Australia. That decision worked very well indeed. The point I make is that the people in Melbourne, thanks to a large degree to the advertising of ceiling insulation throughout Victoria for many years, got their homes insulated. There is a penetration of well over 90 per cent in houses in Victoria. There are many places where government interferes when there is absolutely no necessity whatsoever. The decision should be made by the people spending the money.
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