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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2050 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

made it impractical to proceed with this site. The capital cost of the project provided from the casino premium is $7 million. The study identified a further potential $5 million to use the North Building for the project. In the current budget context it would not have been responsible to proceed without considering alternative sites.

While I certainly intend to provide the necessary explanation to the Assembly as recommended in your report, I would also like to seek the advice of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment on an alternative site.

Mr Speaker, the recommendation I then focused on was made at paragraph 4.7 in the 1996-97 draft capital works program, and we saw the Government's response to that in May this year. In May this year the Planning and Environment Committee decided to inform the Minister that it considered that the Ainslie Avenue precinct should be included in the overall planning of Civic Square. On 23 May 1996 the Chief Minister released preliminary and conceptual proposals for Civic Square. She suggested more grass, more trees, reduction of the size of the pond and improvements to the Ainslie Avenue area. She stated that the Government wanted to turn Civic Square from an austere formal public area into a place where people want to go. The Chief Minister asked for public comment on her proposals, with actual construction to commence early next year.

In fact, Mr Speaker, the committee learnt more details of the Chief Minister's idea at a public hearing on Friday, 7 June 1996 when senior Government officials briefed the committee at the Planning and Environment Committee's request. Mind you, Mr Speaker, the committee had made an unsuccessful request one week earlier for a briefing and we were told that the Government was not in a position to be able to brief us. In fact, it was that very same morning that the conceptual and preliminary proposals appeared in the Canberra Times. Whilst it would appear that the Chief Minister was not prepared to brief the committee, she was prepared to brief the Canberra Times, and the committee did not consider that particularly appropriate.

Mr Humphries: That was the same day you were briefed.

MR MOORE: Mr Humphries interjects that that was the same day of the briefing. No, in fact, it was not. We had requested a briefing the week earlier and we were told, "No, you cannot have a briefing because we are not ready". That very morning when we could not have the briefing was when it appeared in the Canberra Times. We were then briefed the week later.

Mr Humphries: Are you sure?

MR MOORE: I am absolutely positive. Mr Speaker, rather than dwell on that, I will say that we recognise that sometimes these things happen because of a lack of communication through the Government or in levels of bureaucracy. The point has been made and I think it can be left. I think it is something that the Government should take care with in the future, and that is why I have drawn it to your attention.

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