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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 11 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3356 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I just ask members to sit back and think for a moment what this motion would mean if it were not amended. Let us suppose it is 1 January.

Mr Berry: It is Michael Moore's motion. He is yours, mate. We are going to support him. We just want to help you along.

MR HUMPHRIES: Okay, fine; but let me just make this point to you. This is quite important. Let us suppose it is 1 January. Someone comes to the Government and says, "We have an event happening in Canberra. We would like to have" - I do not know, for argument's sake - "a steamboat race across part of Lake Burley Griffin on Australia Day. It is part of a new activity on Australia Day". If that was viewed as a new use of the lake - I hope members are listening; this is quite important; we are going to be in big trouble if we do not get this right, Mr Speaker - - -

Mr Moore: The trouble is, Gary, that Kate blew it, and now you are going to have to have to wear it. We have tried the other way.

MR HUMPHRIES: If someone from a community group comes to the Government and says, "We want to use the lake for this purpose in a few days' time", on Australia Day, for example, we are going to have to say, "You cannot use the lake for that purpose because we are not allowed, under a motion passed by the Assembly, to authorise any new use of any part of any lake unless we have put that use before the Legislative Assembly".

Mr Moore: That is right.

MR HUMPHRIES: Members might feel that is quite appropriate. That might be a consequence that they want to inflict on us. It is not us that they are hurting; it is members of the community that they are hurting. We are not going to have any trouble; we are going to say, "The Assembly stopped us from doing this; blame the Assembly". It is not going to hurt us. Passing that motion is not going to hurt us; it is going to hurt those community groups out there who are going to be finding it very difficult to get access to the lake.

Mr Moore: We will explain it to them. We could not trust you.

MR HUMPHRIES: They are not going to ask you about it; they are going to blame you for it and feel very disgruntled about the whole situation.

Mr Moore: It is all right. We will wear it.

MR HUMPHRIES: If members feel we have done the wrong thing, move a motion of condemnation of us or go even further and censure the Government if you want to. Do not take it out on people who are users of the lakes. We are talking about a very large area, a very significant part of the city of Canberra; not just Lake Burley Griffin and its foreshores, but the foreshores and the body of Lake Ginninderra, the body and the foreshores of Lake Tuggeranong.

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