Page 3528 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 12 October 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR MOORE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. It is quite clear that the Conservation, Heritage and Environment Committee recommended in a unanimous report that culling go ahead. The report has been with the Government now for quite some months. The real question that has not been answered is: For how long, Minister, are you going to sit on your hands while this problem grows?
MR WOOD: I think it is rather too simplistic for Mr Moore to say that, because it is a significant and sensitive problem. Therefore, it is one to which I am giving the appropriate amount of treatment.
Design and Siting Approvals
MR DE DOMENICO: Madam Speaker, my question is also to the Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning. I refer the Minister to two recent applications to his department by a Canberra firm seeking design and siting approvals for a carport and a garage to be constructed in the Tuggeranong area. Minister, these applications were lodged in June - four months ago - and the company still has not received any response from the department. When the Minister was asked about these kinds of delays on 13 October 1993 - almost a year ago to the day - he said, "We can look at the processes". I ask the Minister: If his department has looked at the processes, why, one year later, does it still take 16 weeks or more for DELP to process an application for a humble carport?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I remember the occasion when this was raised before. I think Mr Kaine raised it at the time; perhaps Mr De Domenico did. As a result, at about this time last year, did we not amend the legislation to allow a faster flow? Mr De Domenico has not been specific; and he does not need to be, because it is a matter of principle about how things are done. It would be my instant response that, if it has taken a long time to get an approval, there is something wrong with the application; that it somehow does not fit in with the guidelines. If it were a simple matter of approval, I would be confident, Mr De Domenico, that it would have been handled properly.
Mr De Domenico: For a carport, Minister.
MR WOOD: I can tell you, Mr De Domenico, that the backyard carport - - -
Mr De Domenico: No; this is at the front of the house.
MR WOOD: A fabricated one, a metal one, creates more neighbourhood disharmony than almost any other type of building extension. They create quite a deal of angst. There are some people who claim that they are not the most attractive structures in the world. I know that they are wonderfully versatile and useful and, no doubt, necessary; but there are many who object to them.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .