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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (18 June) . . Page.. 1761 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

More importantly, that program is examined by the Assembly's Planning and Environment Standing Committee prior to adoption by the Government. Of course, Ms Horodny is a member of that standing committee. The grants which she has drawn into question both here and outside this chamber are the very grants which she, as a member of the Planning and Environment Committee, examined on that committee.

Ms Horodny: We did not have access to that sort of information in that committee either.

MR HUMPHRIES: Ms Horodny has interjected that she did not have access to that information. The information was placed before the Planning and Environment Committee. If it was not, then of course she had the capacity to call for it. My understanding is that she did not call for it. She did not ask for it. It was not referred to in the report of the committee. It was simply not raised as an issue in the debates of the committee. If I am wrong, I will come back to this place and I will withdraw that. Ms Horodny obviously believes that I am wrong, so I will do that. I hope she will undertake to do the same thing if she is wrong. My understanding is that this was not raised in the committee, was not called for in evidence by the committee and was not reported on by the committee when it made a recommendation on the capital works program only a few months ago. I stand by those statements, Mr Speaker.

The Government has committed $1.25m to this project, to be spent over 10 years. The administration of the program lies with the conservation and land management unit of Environment ACT. Individual projects are managed by the appropriate land management agencies. Projects are identified by land management agencies with assistance from the Landcare subcommittee of the Government's Environment Advisory Committee and community Landcare groups. Project priorities are set by a panel of managers from the relevant land management agencies. I emphasise that this process is an open and accountable one which is done in accordance with the Decade of Landcare Plan I have just tabled, which is passed through this Assembly's Planning and Environment Committee, of which Ms Horodny is a member.

MS HORODNY: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a personal explanation under standing order 46. Mr Humphries has just said that in the Planning and Environment Committee I did not ask about Landcare issues, but in the Planning and Environment Committee we specifically and consistently have asked what the priorities in capital works are. Whether it is in relation to bicycle paths or Landcare projects, or indeed all the projects in capital works, we have consistently asked how the priorities are set, what list the Government is working from, and which projects are rejected and on what grounds, and consistently we have not received answers.

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