Page 4700 - Week 15 - Thursday, 21 November 1991
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Mr Humphries raised the issue of compensation for heritage listing. The Government believes that the impact of heritage listing is a matter of considerable complexity. It is not correct to assume that a heritage listing will reduce the value of a property. In many instances a property's value may well be enhanced. The legislation also provides that, where a place is proposed for listing on the Heritage Places Register, the lessee and the wider community will be given the opportunity to comment. The Government intends to review the operation of this part of the legislation and look at the compensation issue in three years' time. It certainly is one that we are not prepared simply to bypass, but I do not believe that it should hold up the progress of this Bill.
Mr Jensen today added to comments he has made during the last week or so about the difficulty of some groups in purchasing copies of the draft Territory Plan at $10 a volume. In response, I think, to a request from Mr Moore, or it may have been Mr Jensen, the Government agreed to provide copies to major groups who had shown an interest over the years in community matters or in environmental matters. I thought it was a good suggestion, and we were happy to comply with that; but I do not know how far Mr Jensen wants to extend this.
I suppose I do know how far he wants to extend it. Maybe he wants me to mail a copy to every resident of Canberra. We do have some respect for costs. The launch, the various consultations and the displays have already imposed considerable expenditure on a government which is facing financial constraints, and I believe that there is a reasonable limit that we must observe. The matter has been well publicised, and people who inquire should have no difficulty in finding out what this is about. (Extension of time granted)
I do not think that we can ever satisfy Mr Moore on the question of community consultation. That is not to say that the Labor Party is any less concerned about community consultation. Since long before the Residents Rally was born, Mr Collaery, as recently as 1987, the Labor Party has been very much in tune with the grassroots of the community. We have extensive links into the community. Consultation, for us, is very important.
Mr Jensen is disappointed that the proposed planning advisory committee does not appear in this Bill. He is disappointed that the Executive will not forward the planners' recommendations on the variation to the ACT Assembly's Planning Committee. I think that if we followed the paths that Mr Jensen suggested we would have a - - -
Mr Jensen: It would save you a lot of time.
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