Page 4715 - Week 15 - Thursday, 21 November 1991
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The plain fact is that I do not think Mr Collaery would ever be ready. There is no question that he and Mr Jensen between them have a most thorough knowledge of this. It should have been no trouble at all for them simply to come up with a list of amendments, even though it may be a relatively complex Bill, and for us to have discussions about those amendments, as I have been doing with Mr Moore.
I do not know whether the Rally, as usual, cannot make up its mind, as Mr Kaine complained so much in the former Alliance Government. I do now know whether they argue amongst themselves. I do not know why it is. I will continue, Mr Collaery, to be patient and to listen to your proposals; but I do not think it does you any good to gripe about the time. You have had more time than enough. If we introduced this in three years' time you would still be saying, "I need more time".
Mr Berry: And more staff, as well.
MR WOOD: And more staff. Nevertheless, we will listen to your amendments in the very short and difficult timeframe you now give us. We will attend to them as well as we can.
MR JENSEN (8.13): Mr Speaker, let me put straight on the record the fact that we are not claiming that this legislation started off on a ping-pong table in Narrabundah or anywhere else. In fact, it could be argued that the basis for this legislation started as far back as 25 March 1988 at the City Gate Motel at a Metropolitan Policy Plan Review Seminar on Public Consultation put on by the then National Capital Development Commission. You could probably argue that that is when it was. That is what this whole thing goes back to.
The program for that meeting is dated 25 March 1988. People like Lyndsay Neilson and Julia Lansley were at that meeting. This document contains reports on public consultation in Canberra and excerpts from the NCDC Business Plan. There is a section entitled "Public Participation in Australia". There is a section there on public participation in the United States, and so on. It could be argued, Mr Speaker, that that is probably the genesis of all this legislation that we have before us.
Mr Wood seems to think that the only thing that the Rally has had to worry about in this Assembly has been this document, the Land (Planning and Environment) Bill. Mr Wood seems to think that that is the only Bill that we have to worry about. Let us get the time factor in relation to this Bill into perspective. Nine draft variations have been put down at once, every one of them development driven. We had to have some input and had to give consideration to that. There has been the proposal for the Manuka development; there has been the proposal for the Canberra Bowling Club. There have been all these issues. There has been the Territory Plan.
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