Page 3507 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 September 1991
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LAND (PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT) BILL 1991
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (11.23): Mr Acting Speaker, I present the Land (Planning and Environment) Bill 1991.
Members interjected.
MR WOOD: You had to wait until I got here. I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
It has been a long time coming. It gives me great pleasure, therefore, to present this historic legislation for the ACT community. It is the most far-reaching package of legislation that has come before the Assembly so far. The Bill is for legislation to establish an integrated planning, heritage, environmental protection and land management system for the Territory.
Through it, we as a community will have an innovative framework in which to guide our city's future growth and development, while at the same time ensuring that our unique environment is properly protected. For many it has been a long time coming, but in the extended period of consultation we have had the benefit of constructive comment from a diverse range of groups and individuals in our community. The Bill now represents a proper balance of these views and aspirations.
The process of developing this Bill commenced with the Follett Government. It was carried on by the Alliance Government. I thank the individuals and organisations who took the trouble to contribute to four rounds of public consultation, including the public hearings conducted by the Assembly's planning and conservation committees. They are to be highly commended for their considerable efforts.
I particularly want to thank the department and the officers in that department for their hard and long work on this matter. It has been a major exercise, and they are to be commended for what they have done. The Parliamentary Counsel's Office has worked under considerable pressure to have this Bill in front of us today, and I particularly want to thank them, too. I think all members will acknowledge the very hard and highly competent work of our officers in producing this Bill.
I would emphasise that the legislation belongs to each and every one of us. It is not just a tool of the Government or bureaucrats. The Bill embodies open planning and land management processes designed to ensure the effective participation of all our residents. The provisions in the Bill have been developed for the particular circumstances of the ACT. We have not simply imitated current practice elsewhere, but have developed a model whose provisions go well beyond those found in other States and the Northern Territory.
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