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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (26 March) . . Page.. 615 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I think it would be appropriate for me to mention that this is my last report as chairman of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. I would like to thank Professor Whalan for his assistance and help. He is certainly in a league of his own in this area. I also have on top of the file a note which says that I should also thank the hardworking, all-knowing secretary of the committee. That is in that person's handwriting. I would like to say that the assistance of Mr Duncan was greatly appreciated.

MR MOORE (11.42): I present Report No. 9 of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment entitled "The Environmental, Social and Financial Impact of Graffiti in Canberra and the Appropriate Means of Preventing Graffiti Damage", together with the extracts from the minutes of proceedings. I move:

That the report be noted.

Pursuant to resolution of the Assembly of 24 August 1995, the report was circulated when the Assembly was not sitting, on 5 March 1996.

First of all, I would like to thank my Assembly colleagues who are members of this committee, particularly Mr Berry who, as a result of the motion he has just put, will now be discharged from this committee. As deputy chair of the committee while I was away at a conference in Hobart, Mr Berry was responsible for the release of this report. I appreciate the effort he put in as deputy chair of the committee for both this report and Report No. 10, which we will come to in a short while.

This is yet another unanimous report of the Planning and Environment Committee, a committee of four people with very disparate views on a range of things, and I think it reflects very well on the committee that we were able to come to a unanimous view on it. The first recommendation of the committee states:

the Government identify appropriate areas for the practice and display of street art ...

We distinguish between graffiti and street art, and I think it is an important distinction. I think many of us recognise street art as being not destructive but, rather, an important and productive part of what goes on in the way young people grow. There is, however, a concern. We have only to look at a number of road safety signs to understand the community concern about the growing amount of graffiti that is put inappropriately through a wide range of areas. I was driving out towards Tuggeranong in the last couple of days - I did not quite make it there, I must tell you, but I was heading out that way. I should correct that, Mr Speaker. I have been out to Tuggeranong, even last night, just checking to see how that electorate goes and whether it needs to be taken over by somebody who can do the job.

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