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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 7 Hansard (18 October) . . Page.. 1807 ..

MR STEFANIAK: We are talking about Charnwood. I would suggest, Ms McRae, that you ask some people there. In relation to that very question, I told them that I would be delighted if we could continue indefinitely to supplement them. Did they see that as a realistic option? The feeling at that meeting was that they did not accept that that was something that could go on forever.

Mrs Carnell: And of course it cannot go on.

MR STEFANIAK: Of course it cannot, as the Chief Minister says.

MS McRAE: Mr Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, do you agree that by your decision you have accepted that the students of Charnwood High School should be relegated to second-class citizens in our high school system?

MR STEFANIAK: Rubbish, Ms McRae; absolute rubbish! As you well know, any number of options are available for that school and for any number of schools. Supplementation is only one thing, Ms McRae. It is not effective. It is something that cannot go on indefinitely. That particular community probably realises that a lot better than you do.

MS HORODNY: My question is directed to the Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, Mr Humphries. In relation to the environmental impact assessment for the proposed soccer centre development at McKellar, why do the terms of reference not include a reference to the potential impact of the proposed development on the watertable of the area, including the impact on adjacent wetlands and Ginninderra Creek?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I thank Ms Horodny for her question. The answer to that question is quite simple: It had already been done in the first stage of the assessment of the environmental impact of this proposal. As you may be aware, there are several environmental assessment stages which can be gone through before a decision is made on whether particular land can be used for a particular purpose. For any proposal covering more than 7,000 square metres, under the legislation there needs to be a preliminary assessment of the impact in a range of areas on a particular environment in which it is proposed that the development go ahead. That was conducted in respect of the soccer club site at McKellar. A number of issues were thrown up as a result of that. As I think you might be aware from my testimony before the Estimates Committee, the Government felt that it was appropriate to refer those issues to a further process of environmental consideration and public report - a second, more advanced stage of environmental assessment.

The first stage of assessment, the PA, did not suggest that there was a significant problem with the quality of water in Ginninderra Creek or in Lake Ginninderra. Indeed, the report that was available suggested that the nutrient level in Lake Ginninderra would be affected by a margin of less than one-tenth of one per cent by building work on the site at McKellar. In the circumstances the evidence was very strong that the proposal as put forward at that time did not generate a problem to do with quality of water.

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