Page 3565 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 19 October 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR CONNOLLY: I thank Mrs Grassby for the question. ACTEW has long had a well-deserved reputation for engineering excellence, and in particular for excellence in environmental engineering. Recently, senior ACTEW officials accompanied the Federal Minister for Industry, Technology and Regional Development, Mr Alan Griffiths, who led an Australian trade delegation to Jakarta. Out of that mission a clear need was identified from the Indonesian Government to tap into Australian expertise in providing urban water treatment and supply facilities. The infrastructure in that part of the world is of a considerably lower standard than that which is to be found here. They have a pressing need. They have substantial investment dollars available through the World Bank and other sources to make that infrastructure investment, and there are significant opportunities for Australian business to link and to provide that investment.
I am pleased to announce that, as a result of that delegation, a senior ACTEW engineer, Mr Peter Buscombe, is about to leave for Indonesia for some six weeks, leading an engineering and liaison group from Australia with a view to providing Australian sources for that infrastructure. Mr Buscombe will be accompanied by officers from the Australian company, Macquarie Corporate Finance, which is looking at commercial opportunities there, and will be closely cooperating with the Indonesian Government's Department of Public Works. Madam Speaker, this is potentially very good news for the ACT. We invest substantial ratepayer dollars in developing our engineering and environmental expertise in ACTEW, and properly so, to protect the inland waterways of Australia - something that I am sure all members would want us to do. By exporting that engineering expertise and linking ACTEW into this developing infrastructure market to our north we have a potential to recoup significant benefit to the ratepayers who invested in the technology in the first place.
Planning Variations - Delays
MR WESTENDE: My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning. Can the Minister confirm that at present the average waiting time between lodgment and approval of a variation to a lease purpose clause is approximately five-and-a-half months? Does the Minister understand the impact that such delays have on business? What is the Minister doing to streamline the process?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I have no information that suggests that five-and-a-half months is the waiting time. There is one factor at the moment, however, that needs to be taken into consideration. For some time now quite a number of likely applicants for change have been aware that the new Territory Plan is to come into effect. Indeed, the Planning Authority has been indicating this to applicants if they did not know. There has been, reasonably, a view from the Planning Authority that it would be better for applications in the last few months to wait until yesterday, when they would be encompassed under the Territory Plan. It seemed not the best way to proceed, to go through the draft variation process - that can be a quite extensive undertaking - so soon ahead of the Territory Plan. If there is any accuracy in the months that Mr Westende indicated, that might be the reason for it. I think my explanation would satisfy him.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .