Page 19 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 22 February 1994
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Madam Speaker, the Government will continue its strong record in social reform with the introduction of the Domestic Relationships Bill. This legislation, which has been the subject of public consultation, will provide legal rights and protection for people who live in domestic relationships. This year should also see the passage of our Mental Welfare Bill, which represents a major overhaul of the law. The Government has been concerned at the high cost and adversarial nature of our legal system. To enable alternative dispute resolution where this is appropriate, we are developing mediation legislation to give legal certainty to mediators and to facilitate the use of mediation.
My Government will never lose sight of the need for Canberra citizens to continue to enjoy the city that they live in. We are committed to preserving those characteristics which make it so special. This year the Government will aim to improve existing environmental laws by introducing integrated environment protection legislation. This legislation will enable the ACT to meet its obligations under national agreements. Other intended environmental legislation will protect threatened species and ecological communities in the ACT. Madam Speaker, legislation recently passed by the Assembly will result in the first state of the environment report later this year by the Commissioner for the Environment. This will represent an important benchmark against which the community will be able to judge future environmental change. One of the key factors in preserving our environment is the extent to which we recycle our rubbish. Tenders are currently being evaluated on the provision of a kerbside recycling program throughout the ACT. The trial arrangement at Kaleen has shown that household wastage can be reduced by one-third, which is in line with the Government's commitment to reducing unnecessary landfill in the Territory.
In terms of town planning, much of our focus in recent years has been directed to the activities that take place on particular blocks of land. This is evident in the development of new planning legislation and the formulation of the Territory Plan. Both of these were very significant exercises, but their area of concern is primarily administration of a contemporary planning system rather than a longer-term approach to Canberra's development. With their successful implementation we can now give some greater attention to how we see the future of Canberra in the longer term - what kind of city we would like to see 50 years from now. This process began with the release of the 2020 study last year. It will now be a major focus of our planning effort.
Madam Speaker, in 20 years' time the Territory is expected to have 400,000 people. In 50 years' time the population could be over half a million. We need to ensure that we gain the benefits that will emerge from growth, both in the ACT and elsewhere, and from economic, social and technological change. In some ways Canberra will be a different kind of city, with a strong emphasis on new technologies, flexible service activities and tourism, particularly ecotourism. Parallel with that emphasis, we are determined to see that Canberra retains the features that we have inherited from its early days, particularly its sense of space and its attractive landscape setting. These are the things that make the bush capital so special. This heritage of Burley Griffin, reflected in the hills and ridges in and around the city, the structure of its central areas and a concern for the natural and built environments, will remain a basic aspect of Canberra's development. Reconciling the competing demands of environmental protection and growth is a task that will face all governments in the coming decades.
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