Page 4074 - Week 15 - Thursday, 17 December 1992
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Planning Authority's response to the community submissions that many people had gone to the trouble of putting before the Planning Authority for consideration. I would also like to take issue with his description of the self-interest of Canberrans. If Mr Kaine felt that I was arguing from the point of view of the self-interest of Canberrans, he was quite wrong. I believe that it is more a question of equality of access by both people who live in existing areas and people who will be moving to new areas. I do not believe that any particular community in the ACT should be disadvantaged by the lack of provision of facilities.
Mr Moore was quite correct in saying that I have a responsibility to pursue a motion of disallowance where I have the opportunity to do so, and I have taken that opportunity following the tabling of my dissenting report in the Assembly last week. He also mentioned the strategic plan.
Mr Cornwell: There goes the neighbourhood.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order, members, please! It is Christmas cheer, Ms Szuty.
MS SZUTY: I realise. Mr Moore also mentioned the very important matter of the strategic plan. It is a question, I think, on which the residents who live in Belconnen at the moment would take particular issue. West Belconnen has been proposed without that strategic planning framework of the ACT being put in place.
Mr Wood, in his remarks, mentioned that it was my responsibility to raise the concerns expressed by my community, and I have done that. He went through a range of matters that I commented about, including environmental concerns, fire hazards, the provision of school facilities, the lack of social and recreational opportunities for young people, equestrian facilities and the Government's response to the environmental concerns that it recognised arose from the final environmental impact statement. He also said, at the end of his remarks, that he would be happy to hear where the consultation process could be improved. Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that, in this particular instance, the consultation process could have been effectively improved, quite significantly improved, by giving the community the opportunity to comment on those two papers that I mentioned earlier - the final environmental impact statement, and indeed the Government's response to that via its evaluation report, and the Planning Authority's response to community submissions. I understand that consideration of West Belconnen has occurred over a long period. However, I think it is unfortunate that, towards the final stage of the process, community views have not been heard on those final matters.
Madam Speaker, I recognise, from members' views, that the disallowance motion today will not succeed. However, I intend to put the Government and the Planning Authority on notice that I will be taking a very keen interest in the development of West Belconnen and doing all I can for the future residents of that area.
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