Page 6232 - Week 19 - Tuesday, 17 December 1991
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the Minister to designate an area for the casino and the interim casino. It varies the eligibility criteria for the issue of key casino employees' licences and provides for conditions upon which an interim casino licence may be suspended or cancelled. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I put a lot of faith in our Scrutiny of Bills Committee. It is magnificently served by Professor Whalan and excellently chaired, as we know. I think we can take it that, had there been any flaws in the Bill, they would have been picked up there.
There has also been a great deal of debate about the planning arrangements to apply, and I would like to run through briefly, for the information of members, the chronological sequence that is involved in the draft variation to the Territory Plan. The first step has already taken place; the draft variation has been released for public comment by notice in the Canberra Times on 14 December, last Saturday, and the ACT Gazette on 16 December 1991. There is now a period for lodgment of comments on the draft variation. That period closes on 20 March which, coincidentally, is the same date as comment is due on the draft Territory Plan itself. After 20 March copies of all responses are made available for perusal and that period, again, is for 21 days. There is a notice in the Canberra Times to the effect that those comments are available.
The ACT Planning Authority considers the issues that are raised in any National Capital Planning Authority comments and it submits the draft variation to the ACT Executive, together with background papers and the report on consultation. We are talking about the new ACT Government here, and, of course, the new ACT Executive. The ACT Executive then seeks recommendations of the Legislative Assembly committee or committees, whichever applies, before it makes a decision on the draft variation, and, as we know, a committee might decide to hold an inquiry before it makes a recommendation. Those arrangements are put in place by virtue of the Rally and Liberal Party amendments to our planning laws.
The Executive then receives the recommendations of the Assembly committee or committees and makes a decision on the draft variation. Assuming that the Executive approves the draft variation, we have to table the variation and supporting documentation in the Assembly within five sitting days of the approval. After tabling, members of the Assembly have another five clear sitting days in which to move a motion of rejection or disallowance. If such a motion is moved, it has to be disposed of by the Assembly within five sitting days or else the variation is deemed to have been rejected. If the variation is not rejected by the Assembly, then a notice is published in the ACT Gazette specifying the date that the variation comes into effect. After gazettal of the variation to the Territory Plan a lease can be issued or a variation of an existing lease executed.
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