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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 4 Hansard (7 May) . . Page.. 1088 ..

Debate resumed.

MR HUMPHRIES: You went on in here about the tortoises, Mr Berry, so you have to wait.

Mr Berry: You have not sent a messenger to find out.

MR HUMPHRIES: You will find out. I am not sure when, but you will find out. I realise that tortoises are the mascot of the Labor Party. I do not know as much about them as you obviously do, but I will come back to them in a minute.

Mr Berry: It means that when you were Health Minister you never went to Sylvia Curley House; that is what it means.

MR HUMPHRIES: Not where the tortoises were, obviously. Mr Speaker, in assessing demolition tenders the Government had to consider a whole range of matters. Contrary to Ms Horodny's view, recycling and reuse of materials was one of those considerations. Let me advise Ms Horodny that, as I recall my little slogan on recycling, it was that people should reduce, reuse and then recycle.

Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Could you ask the members to caucus elsewhere.

MR SPEAKER: Members, could you lobby in the lobbies.

MR HUMPHRIES: I thank members. When we are talking about these things, it would seem to me that reusing is a very important part of the process of being able to environmentally, sensitively, deal with major projects like the demolition of the hospital.

Mr Moore: Ms Horodny may not have understood that; perhaps you had better explain "reuse" again.

MR HUMPHRIES: I think I had better repeat that, yes. The order of preference is reduce, reuse, recycle. It would seem to me that we should salvage from the buildings. For example, the gas boilers are being taken from the hospital and relocated to Woden, where the boiler from the child-care centre has been donated to the Richmond Fellowship building in Pialligo. Last night a truck full of metals destined for recycling was sitting behind the TWU picket line. There is something which could be going off to get a bit of recycling. Doors, I understand, are being reused, not recycled; they are not having value added. Adding value implies that you destroy them and you re-create them. I do not know how you add value by destroying the milk bottle and re-creating the same milk bottle.

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