Page 4789 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994
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MR MOORE (11.46): Mr Wood, in his introductory speech, and Mr Stefaniak, now, have spoken at length on the import of the Bill. There is no point in my reiterating those comments. Instead, I would like to contribute a few other comments. Most importantly, I would like to start by commenting on the amount of help that I have had in drafting a couple of small amendments to this Bill. First of all, I received help from Mr Wood's officers, particularly from Mr Peter Harrison. That is a good example of how the parliamentary counsel go out of their way, even at very short notice, to assist members to draft sensible amendments to Bills. I do not think that any member here would understate the assistance that we get from parliamentary counsel, the effort that they put in and the number of times they save us from ourselves.
Ms Follett: Not always.
MR MOORE: I hear a very unusual interjection from the Chief Minister, who says, "Yes, always".
Ms Follett: No; not always.
MR MOORE: Not always. It does not always save us from ourselves; but, in parliamentary drafting terms, I think it is fair to say that that is almost always the case. I think that a few of the comments in that area that were made over the last couple of days were somewhat intemperate. I would like to put on the record my appreciation. I know that, generally, that is the feeling of all members. I will be moving the amendments. Mr Stefaniak appropriately described what the amendments will do. They will provide for a situation where farmers can still work their land in a responsible way without degrading the environment. We need to be positive in that approach.
While I am speaking on this issue and talking about the protection of nature, because this is the last day of this Assembly and I probably will not have another opportunity, I would ask members for their indulgence for a little while so that I can make some comments about another aspect of the protection of the ACT. I refer to the National Capital Planning Authority. We have had a new chair appointed to the National Capital Planning Authority. It was announced yesterday and in the newspaper this morning that the new chair is Professor Evan Walker. Professor Walker has a master's degree from the University of Toronto, a very well-respected university, and for another few months he has a half-time administrative position as Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at the University of Melbourne. He was recently appointed by Brian Howe, the Deputy Prime Minister, to chair the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Professor Walker was a member of the upper house in Victoria. He was Minister for Planning and Environment from 1982 to 1986.
Professor Walker came to my attention when his name was floated as one of a number of people who might chair the Lansdown committee. That is why I took the time to try to find out something about Professor Walker. Just recently I asked for a copy of his CV, which has kindly been provided to me by the National Capital Planning Authority. It includes the sorts of things that I have mentioned. For instance, he was Minister for Major Projects, and in 1986 he won the President's Award of the Victorian Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects for a major contribution to architecture, planning and environment in Victoria. That was after the time that he had been Minister.
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