Page 2503 - Week 08 - Thursday, 19 August 1993
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department has organised a public open day this Saturday to give the public the opportunity, which I and other members of the committee have had, to visit the property. Every encouragement should be given to the public to participate on Saturday and have a good look at the sorts of conservation issues we are talking about in terms of historical preservation. I am hoping that, as a result, the public will have a very well-informed position on which to make a judgment on the issue.
MS SZUTY (10.54): Madam Speaker, I was not going to speak on this government response to the report of the Conservation, Heritage and Environment Standing Committee, as I have already spoken at some length in the Assembly on this issue.
Mr Lamont: You have already made your mind up, have you not?
MS SZUTY: I am not going to take up the Assembly's time in going over those issues that I have raised previously.
Mr Lamont: I thought you said on the ABC that you had already made your mind up.
MS SZUTY: Yes. Ms Ellis indicated that she took the opportunity to go over the site. I have done that quite extensively over the last few weeks, and I still hold to the views I expressed in this Assembly previously about the heritage significance of the site. We know that there still are strong community feelings that the decision taken by the Conservation, Heritage and Environment Committee was flawed. There are five significant groups in the community who have expressed that view: The Minders of Tuggeranong Homestead, the Tuggeranong Community Council, the Tuggeranong Community Arts Association, the Conservation Council of the South-East Region and Canberra, and the Heritage Council. I look forward to exploring these issues further with my colleagues on the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee as we consider the variation in relation to the Tuggeranong Homestead site, which will be before us in the next few weeks, I believe.
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (10.55), in reply: Madam Speaker, I thank members for their contributions. I will pick up some of the points Mr Moore made. I think they are points we all agree with. He commented on the extensive process behind the examination of this issue. Indeed, that is a process that occurs with all the draft variations we put out. I think members accept that and are therefore able to make up their minds about the comments we hear in the community concerning a lack of process, a lack of consideration, a lack of consultation. We know that the processes are quite exhaustive.
The same points were made yesterday, after Mr Lamont tabled his committee's response to the Belconnen golf course proposal. It was said then by the committee and by others what an extensive and effective process this is. Should the North Watson proposals, or any other proposals, come into this Assembly, I am sure that the same comments will be made. It seems to me that sometimes it is a tactic in some parts of this community to talk about no consultation, unfair processes, simply to advance their case.
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