Page 3408 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 11 October 1994
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CANBERRA NATURE PARK AND NAMADGI NATIONAL PARK
Discussion of Matter of Public Importance
MADAM SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Mr Berry proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:
The importance of Canberra Nature Park and Namadgi National Park for the concept of the Bush Capital.
MR BERRY (Manager of Government Business) (3.29): Madam Speaker, this is one of my favourite issues. It certainly is one that is overwhelmingly the favourite of the Labor Party in the Australian Capital Territory because it is about protecting a place which, for its residents, is very special. For those who are not its residents, for those outside this Territory, we have an obligation to preserve it as part of this great nation's capital.
Canberra's open space system is unique in Australia. I would say that it could be so in respect of the world. Canberra is aptly referred to by many as the bush capital because the city has been planned from the outset to reflect the character of the Australian landscape. Canberra Nature Park and Namadgi National Park are two parks within the ACT's reserves system that especially enhance the concept of the bush capital. Visitors to this great city often comment about the desirability of those areas of the bush which impinge upon parts of the city. Canberra Nature Park provides a quiet refuge from urban living within residential areas and wildlife corridors linking urban areas with other parts of the Territory's system of conservation reserves, including Namadgi.
Mr Humphries: You have cleared the house, Wayne.
MR BERRY: You are still here, Mr Humphries, so it shows that at least you, amongst the Liberals, have some taste - and, of course, Mr Stefaniak. You show some concern about those finer aspects of our city, which obviously have not such a high profile for other members of the Liberal Party. I am carrying the banner for Labor right now, and I am very proud to do so in respect of these fine assets.
Namadgi National Park provides a place for deeper contemplation, if you like, in a wilderness setting, and it secures the habitats of the Territory's wildlife population, including many species which move through Canberra Nature Park each year. I might add that the security of that wildlife and of the areas of Canberra Nature Park have been immeasurably increased by this Government. Woe betide any government which does not guarantee that security, because it is something that is well loved by the constituency that we represent. The 25 units of Canberra Nature Park are now protected as nature reserves in the Territory Plan. The security of these important hilltops had been in doubt from when the Canberra Nature Park concept was devised in 1974 until this Government acted in accordance with overwhelming community wishes to have them reserved as conservation areas.
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