Page 890 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 30 March 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR WOOD: I thank you for your assurances of my honourable nature. Occasionally I see things emerge where the title "Honourable" is used, and that is just one error that was made. I was rather bemused by that invitation. I had been approached not long before and I indicated that I supported the concept and I thought it was great that they were doing it, but I was not available on that day. I told them that. I understood also that at that time the New South Wales Minister was not able to attend. I did give them sufficient notice that I was not going to be there, upon their asking. As I recall, they had that advice from me within a day or two of the invitation arriving on my desk.
So I was somewhat startled to see the invitation come some weeks later with my name on it. It was simply wrong, because I was not able to go. I would be very happy to go on any future occasion. I have given that indication to them. It is a body I support. It is a well-established body. It has the same interests that we have in the ACT, and I am more than happy to participate. In answer to the other part of Ms Szuty's question, I should indicate quite clearly that a representative was sent. We did have people there who were able to represent the ACT. I do not know where Ms Szuty has got her information from, but I suspect that someone is doing a little stirring in the background.
I conclude by saying that the ACT record in the period of the second Follett Government and the first Follett Government has been excellent. The quality of the work of ACTEW and the cooperation between Mr Connolly and me on this matter have gone a long way towards ensuring that the quality of the water flowing out of Lower Molonglo is better than ever. It is probably not widely known at this stage that we have, after some debate, agreed on the location of the wall for the overflow dam, which in what are now the much rarer circumstances of an overflow would be a containment for that overflow. We have agreed on the dam wall, and I might indicate that it is a fairly successful way of doing it. From my point of view, I am anxious for the quality of the effluent to be very high and I am also anxious to protect the legless lizard that has a known and extensive habitat there. Mr Connolly has the same views.
In order to reconcile the differences that were there we instituted a new procedure under the Land Act of having a round-table conference to work this through. Our friends from the Conservation Council came along, and ACTEW and people from my Environment Department, and we sat around and worked through the various options and the difficulties. In the end we came to an agreement that the wall had to go in a certain place. It was certainly the best option. We resolved in a very sensible way what was potentially a quite difficult issue. That is just a further point on the way we are attending to our responsibilities to ensure the quality of water going into the Murrumbidgee.
MS SZUTY: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Did the representative who was sent to represent the Minister at the forum actually address the forum?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I will find out the details of that and get back to Ms Szuty.
Ms Follett: I ask that further questions be placed on the notice paper, Madam Speaker.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .