Page 4724 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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put into the committee's deliberations. I would also like to thank Mr Kaine and Mr Lamont, both former members of the Planning Committee. I certainly learnt a lot from those members of this Assembly through their work on the Planning Committee. I, too, would like to add my thanks to the secretary of the committee, Rod Power, who has done an absolutely sterling job in servicing the needs of members of this committee. He enabled us to present an extremely comprehensive report on the planning legislation to this Assembly this afternoon.
MS ELLIS (4.49): Madam Speaker, I am going to be very brief and not take up too much time of the house, but I specifically want to address this tabling of this report today. I think it is true to say that it is the last opportunity to speak as a member of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee of this place during the life of this Assembly. This is the last report of that committee. As was mentioned earlier in this debate, the committee has held 116 meetings and has faced many difficult issues in its life. I do not particularly want to refer directly to the report because the previous speakers have done so. I want to take the opportunity to make some comments in relation to this particular committee.
The committee, as we know, has had two personnel changes. Mr Kaine left the committee and Mr Cornwell joined, and Mr Lamont, the previous chair, changed positions with Mr Berry, and Mr Berry became the chair. With each of these changes the personality of the committee changed slightly as well, as we all bring different talents and different personalities to our committee work. I think it is important to say that this committee, which is one of the most important committees in this place, given its workload, has benefited very much by every one of those people's contributions. I thank Mr Lamont for his previous chairing of the committee, and especially Mr Berry for his recent chairing of the committee, during very difficult times, particularly during times of great debate on the question of planning in the community at large and the completion of this report.
As a member of the committee I do not wish to sound too self-congratulatory about the committee, but it is important to say that the completion of this report is a great achievement for the committee process that we have in this place. This report, in my view, given my experience on other committees in this place, could occupy the time of a committee solely for some months alone. To put into context the workload involved in this report, it is important to say that. As Ms Szuty said, this reference had been in front of us for some time, but during that time we continued to meet and continued to deliberate on other self-referred inquiries as well as every variation to the Territory Plan. I think it is important to put into context how this report has emerged from the PDI Committee.
Yes, the report does contain recommendations for further inquiries on a couple of important issues. I do not particularly share the view that it is a pity that that has occurred. Whether or not this report had occupied the sole attention of the committee and no other work was done, I believe that those two or three recommendations would have been made anyway. I think there may be other committees in this place that can more expertly look at those more defined issues, particularly the issue of betterment and the other one referred to in the report.
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