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MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, after I went to Mr Berry a few minutes ago he said that I went down there to make a churlish remark. That is simply untrue, Mr Speaker. I actually went there to offer Mr Berry a throat lozenge, and I did not make a remark other than to offer him a throat lozenge.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, may I make a quick explanation under standing order 46? Mr Moore ought not to misquote what I said. He did make churlish remarks about the fact that I had made a statement and he accused me of not saying anything. I thought that his offer of a sweet was very generous, but I rejected it because I did not think it would work.

Question resolved in the negative.

NOISE POLLUTION

Debate resumed from 3 May 1995, on motion by Mr Moore:

That the Government take appropriate action to ensure that local residents, whether in New South Wales or ACT, are adequately protected from noise pollution.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training and Minister for Sport and Recreation) (11.45): As I indicated briefly last week, I think probably the best way to do what this motion seeks would simply be to ensure that our legislation was the same as that in New South Wales. That is indeed our Government's policy, although we are a government of only seven. I note comments around the chamber in relation to that, and I note that there will be further discussions in relation to that.

I wish to make a few points in relation to what Mr Moore has raised in this debate. Significant advances in reducing noise have been made by motor sports at Fairbairn Park. Indeed, we are now at a stage where probably only the speedway and the hill climb regularly need exemptions. A number of things can be done to overcome that. We could relocate the formula 500 meetings to the reverse slope at Fairbairn Park and perhaps transfer the hill climb to nearby Sutton Park, where the noise goes in the opposite direction to New South Wales rather than straight across the valley at New South Wales as it does currently from Fairbairn Park. There are a number of things which this Government is exploring and which motor sport itself is exploring in relation to that.

In the statements that Mr Moore made there are a number of fallacies. He talked about a report made some 20 years ago, before the construction of the Sutton Road driver training track for the police, recommending that a systemic environmental assessment be carried out. He claims that no such investigation has ever been done. I do not know whether Mr Moore is aware of the Challis report on which work was carried out under the previous Government, I believe, in May 1992. Mr Challis is an Australian and world renowned expert on noise and is accepted as such by the Australian courts. His comprehensive assessment was available to the previous Government. For the benefit of Mr Moore and anyone else who wants to look at it, I table the Challis report.

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