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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 3971 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

and family events. Considering that the development of the John Dedman Parkway has been on the cards ever since the Gungahlin external travel study was conducted in 1989, and it is also commonly accepted that this road may not be built for a number of years, surely a few months' delay in the consultation process, to allow effective community input, is not too much to ask for.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, in answering this question I am tempted to reflect that there seems to be no mechanism known that we can adopt that is going to satisfy the Greens on consultation. I think we should try a new system. Perhaps we can capture residents of surrounding suburbs, take them to a dark building somewhere, tie them to chairs and force them to tell us their views about the John Dedman Parkway under threat of pain and torture.

Mr Speaker, the fact of the matter is that I do not know the details of what was said to residents last night at the meeting. If they expressed a concern about the timeframe of that consultation, I will certainly look at that question in consultation with my colleague, the Minister for Urban Services, and see whether it is possible to adjust that if it is a problem. I do not really think that anyone can be expected to give a particular answer on a particular day. This is mid-November, and we are quite some while away yet from any decisions about that. I very much doubt whether there is any particular process here which it is absolutely indispensable for a resident to be involved with or to be present at that cannot be supplied in some other way. I will look at the issue that Ms Tucker has raised and I will advise her if any adjustments need to be made to that consultation program.

MS TUCKER: I ask a supplementary question. One of the other issues that were raised was concern from some of the residents that there would be a limited number able to be involved in the workshops. I would ask you to address that also with the consultants, because we would like to see on what criteria who is allowed to participate in the workshops will be decided. If you could table that information and the brief that you gave to the consultants initially, it would be useful.

MR HUMPHRIES: I will take that question on notice. I do not know the answer.

MS REILLY: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services, whom I will not name, as yesterday he was very sensitive about the possibility of his name being used. Minister, during the Estimates Committee hearings you informed the committee that the services formerly performed by the Totalcare bus fleet which are currently being transferred to ACTION will be subject to an open and competitive tender process at the end of 1997. Minister, can you explain why it will take over 12 months to call for tenders, when by your own department's admission there is no contract in place between Totalcare and the Department of Urban Services to provide these services to the Department of Education and the Health Department?

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