Page 426 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 2 March 1994

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Mr Humphries: Do not worry about that.

MR WOOD: That is typically your approach, of course. You will set out to fudge everything over and to say as little definitive as possible. Madam Speaker, the Chief Minister's address last week gives me the opportunity to elaborate - - -

Debate interrupted.

ADJOURNMENT

MADAM SPEAKER: It being 4.30 pm, I propose the question:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Mr Berry: I require the question to be put forthwith without debate.

Question resolved in the negative.

GOVERNMENT'S PRIORITIES FOR 1994 AND AUTUMN

LEGISLATION PROGRAM

Ministerial Statement and Paper

Debate resumed.

MR WOOD: I will provide a little elaboration on the comments the Chief Minister made last week, and I will refer particularly to the Department of the Environment, Land and Planning. I will have something further to say about education at another time. We have a very clear direction in the way we are going. We are maintaining Canberra as the bush capital, as a prosperous and attractive city, and what we do will enhance our environment. At the same time, there will be further growth in the city - that is inevitable - in the suburban as well as the town areas. It will be a great place in which to live, as it has always been, with its population now at about 300,000, and it will become an even more diverse and vital city.

To demonstrate what I have said, I mention two steps we have taken recently. Yesterday I announced a draft variation, which will come into this Assembly in due course, to extend very significantly the boundaries of Mulligan's Flat. The Territory Plan showed quite significant areas there proposed for residential development, and we have changed that. We did so because we believed that that was an area of great importance. At the same time, probably passing through the Assembly this week, depending on what happens tomorrow, is the North Watson development, which is again a very useful use of the ACT's resources.

I point out that we are committed to the planned development of Civic as well as of the town, group and local centres. We believe that Civic must remain as the prime centre of Canberra, but it is not to be the only centre of Canberra. The Territory Plan, as members may know, restricts the proportion of the work force in Civic to 20 per cent of the total ACT work force. That enables us to


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