Page 3357 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 September 1994
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The program will provide full calendar year funding beginning in 1995. Before I conclude I would like to add that, whilst the ACT is a small jurisdiction, the Government considers that the ACT's involvement in the development and implementation of national and international environment agreements is very important. Local action can and does make a difference. We have already alluded to the Government's active participation in the development of national agreements, and in forums such as the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council. The ACT will continue to contribute and foster the links established with our State and Territory counterparts, to achieve a safe and healthy environment for all Australians.
MR MOORE (5.11): It is a pleasure to rise to speak to this very important matter of public importance, namely:
The need to ensure that all possible measures are undertaken to guarantee the quality of the ACT environment.
I would like to begin my speech, Madam Speaker, by referring to Mr Wood's answer to my supplementary question at question time. My question drew attention to the initiatives of the ACT Government that Mr Wood was so proud of and which go back to Canberra in the Year 2020. They are initiatives of the platform on which Ms Szuty and I were elected. On the front page of the platform, under the heading "Principles", we stated:
We must look to 2020, thirty years hence, and work towards a sustainable future. We must deliver for our children a sustainable and stable economy, a sustainable and enriching environment, with equal rights to health, education, employment. Our plan to 2020 must set social priorities.
Planning is the centre of this vision for Canberra. It is a vision in which all members of the community share and it is through a visionary approach and a planning strategy we have gained the Canberra we have now.
By planning to the year 2020 we accept the same challenge as the planners in the early 60's who formulated the decentralised town centre concept: the plan that has delivered to us a Canberra where the urban environment is second to none in the world.
Yesterday, following presentation of the report, I congratulated the Commissioner for the Environment on the report, and I discussed with him the issues of the urban environment. He said that that was the area that was the most difficult to deal with. No doubt all of us would recognise that. He said that he was looking forward to the next state of the environment report, when he would be able to put more effort into it. Of course, he will have some assistance to do that. We are aware of a number of inquiries at the moment that are designed specifically to deal with the issues of the urban environment.
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