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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 11 Hansard (26 September) . . Page.. 3453 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I refer members to the visits that the committee made around Canberra and to the general programs in the back of the committee report. The Planning and Environment Committee would particularly like to acknowledge your assistance, Mr Speaker, in approving the conference expenditures, approving the use of the chamber, and formally welcoming those attending the conference. The assistance provided by the Chief Minister, Mrs Carnell, and the Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, Mr Humphries, was also appreciated, as well as that of the Deputy Chief Minister in ensuring that ACTEW Corporation was particularly supportive. One of the highlights of the conference was the effort put in by a range of ACT public servants, but ACTEW Corporation members such as Mr Cary Reynolds and Mr Paul Perkins stood out in terms of the sorts of issues they were able to deal with, and appropriately so, for the public works and environment committee members who were here at this conference. The number of positive comments that I heard about it were interesting. Mr Speaker, it involved a great deal of organisation, but I think the real import of this report, as members will see, is that it is yet another sign of the maturity of this parliament.

Mr Speaker, I will speak on Report No. 17 now as well. I indicate that the committee also intends to present a Report No. 18. Report No. 17 deals with the environmental aspects of that conference, and Report No. 18 will deal with the specific public works aspects of the conference. We learnt a great deal at that conference. This second national conference on environmental affairs attended by Australasian parliamentarians indicates the high degree of interest that is taken by members of parliament in environmental issues.

The national and international environmental issues were originally addressed by Mrs Hughes, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in New Zealand, and she drew our attention to the fact that early next year there will be a conference of environmental commissioners from Canada, Australia and other places. I hope that our Commissioner for the Environment will be able to attend that conference. She was interesting, Mr Speaker, and I quote from what she said:

... government constrains me by the budget. I run a very small office. I have a revenue of $1.4m ... eight investigating staff, a mix of scientists and resource management graduates, one lawyer, and a corporate services staff of four.

She feels the same sorts of restrictions that everybody feels. There are some contrasts with our own commissioner and some things we can compare. She also said:

I do not have any regulatory teeth; I cannot change a decision made by public authority; I cannot intervene in a statutory planning process. My only weapon is that I embarrass by publishing my findings. That is a very powerful weapon.

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