Page 3037 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 14 September 1993
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There is only one problem. Neither the Bill, nor the explanatory memorandum, nor the Minister's tabling speech tells us why.
Mr De Domenico: The press release might have. Was there a press release as well?
MR KAINE: He did not give me one of those, but you may be right; it may have done. On the face of it, on the Bill and the information as presented to the Assembly, the Liberal Party, in opposition, has no reason to oppose this Bill. In fact, I think we support it. I am quite sure, Madam Speaker, that if the Minister can explain to us why he is making this major change in the management of the forestry operations he will get our unqualified support.
Mr De Domenico: Is there anything to do with sexist language and the sex of the trees?
MR KAINE: There is no sex in the forests, as far as I can tell. Madam Speaker, I invite the Minister to explain to us the need for this massive change. I think I can assure him that, given a reasonable explanation, the Liberal Party, in opposition, will support this Bill.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (8.37), in reply: This Bill certainly is elegant in its simplicity. It is a very short process. The Bill itself does not create the new trust account. What the Bill does is shift money from an old account to a new account. As was said in the presentation speech, the new trust account is established under the Audit Act. True it is that the presentation speech did not go into great reasons why we have created the new trust account, other than to say:
With the passage of time and with self-government, it is considered appropriate to establish a new trust account to reflect the up-to-date arrangements for the ACT forestry operations ...
But I can give a good explanation. Forestry operations are significant in the ACT. We are unique in Australia in that we have commercial forestry operations around the city and, indeed, in the city. If anyone has been driving along Limestone Avenue recently they would have seen that there has been some culling at Haig Park. There are some logs lined up there, or at least there were on the weekend. They may have gone in the last day or so - - -
Mr Kaine: No, they were still there two hours ago.
MR CONNOLLY: They are still there today. So that is something quite unique in Australia - to see commercial forestry within the city. ACT forestry has grown. It is an industry which employs directly about 320 people.
Mr Kaine: They are historic. They are heritage trees, too.
MR CONNOLLY: Yes, that is right. It employs indirectly probably about 650 people. The industry has become more and more integrated with regional forestry operations of New South Wales. Operators who take our product tend to operate on larger and larger scales and increasingly ACT Forests has found it necessary, as part of its commercial operations, to engage in a level of brokerage, for want of a better word, with other logging operators in New South Wales.
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