Page 6056 - Week 18 - Thursday, 12 December 1991
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up with better legislation. I guess that what we have to be careful of at times is the speed with which some of our legislation passes through this Assembly. I can understand, as we are winding down, why that might be the case. But I think that is probably something for us to take into account when the Assembly resumes next year. I commend to our daily Canberra based newspaper this proposal for the community consultation process in relation to all legislation that passes through this place. I hope that the editor will take it on board.
MR STEVENSON (4.38): There has not been, unfortunately, much time for debate, research, et cetera on this Bill. It was introduced on 28 November. How on earth people are supposed to do the job properly in this Assembly I do not know. Most people I speak to in Canberra do not either. However, I will do my best to put forward a few other points that we should perhaps look at.
Mr Jensen just mentioned the discovery in 1984 of a large hole over Antarctica. That is actually not correct. The ozone hole was discovered in 1956, I believe, by Gordon Dobson, later Sir Gordon Dobson. One would ask: What has Dobson to do with ozone? Why should we believe anything he says? Dobson believed that the ozone hole was a natural phenomenon. The ozone layer is actually measured in Dobson units. The standard equipment to measure that is the Dobson spectrophotometer. So, he probably has some expertise in the area. Mr Jensen mentions that the hole is getting bigger as the sky falls in. That is my addition on the end.
Mr Jensen: I never said that.
MR STEVENSON: No, I said that that was my addition on the end. I think it is a perfect situation. Whenever anybody talks to me about greenhouse and the ozone, I look up and wonder whether the sky is falling in again.
I did not hear it today, because I did not hear the full debate; but it usually is the case that the year from which the statistics are measured to show that we have a problem with the ozone layer is 1970. Now, 1970 is the time when the highest level of ozone was recorded since at least 1959, and I believe earlier. Since then, indeed, there has been about a 5 to 6 per cent decrease.
However, if one takes it from an earlier time - I think it is 1957 - one has a 5 per cent increase in the amount of ozone. So, as always, whenever we cite an increase or decrease in something, it depends on when we take it from. Let us say that the Assembly was abolished early next year. One could say that there was a decrease in the number of politicians by 17. But, if one took it from, say, 1987, one would find that the mean level had remained the same. There had been no increase and no decrease at all.
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