Page 4246 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 29 November 1994
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Mr Berry: What about Yowani? You want to go ahead with that.
MR DE DOMENICO: I will talk about Yowani in a minute, Mr Berry, when you present that report. We will see how hypocritical that situation is as well. On any committee I am involved with in the future, unless bureaucrats, planning authorities and the like think it is so important an environmental situation that they finish all the reports, I will, first of all, refuse to accept anything that is said. Secondly, if I have to err on anyone's side in the future, unless I have all the information before me from the so-called experts I will always err on the side of human beings over anything else. I make that quite clear.
Once again, I, as others, did not want to be accused of being an environmental vandal. But I put the Planning Authority on notice, and this side of the house puts the Planning Authority on notice, that we need to have all the information in front of us before we are asked to make intelligent decisions, especially in those areas where we have no expertise. That is what we rely on those people for. I concur with the comments made by the committee. I was not 100 per cent satisfied that what was put before me was all I should know before I made that decision.
Mr Berry: But you would have to accept that there were timing difficulties.
MR DE DOMENICO: There are always timing difficulties, and if there are timing difficulties there is nothing to stop the Minister from retrieving the draft variation from the committee until such time as the Minister is satisfied that he is getting the right information. That is the way I see it, Mr Berry. I will no longer be accepting hand passes from everybody around the place. It is time that those people who have expertise in particular areas or responsibilities in particular areas satisfied themselves that the information they give to elected members of this chamber is right before we have to start reading things. I endorse the recommendation made by the committee. It is a unanimous recommendation. I am just putting on notice all those people concerned: From now on they should make sure that they get it all right before they come before an Assembly committee and present information.
MS SZUTY (8.45): I will speak briefly to the draft variation before the Assembly. I would like to outline the work the committee did before we made the decision that we could not go any further with the variation. The points are outlined extensively in our report to the Assembly on this draft variation, but it is worth noting that we were originally briefed about the draft variation by the Chief Planner and other officers of the Planning Authority on Friday, 16 September 1994 - about two months ago. The committee requested that the authority provide it with a copy of all submissions it had received in relation to the draft variation. We also resolved to call for public comment on the Gungahlin Town Centre draft variation, with a closing date for submissions of Friday, 7 October 1994.
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