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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (11 November) . . Page.. 3926 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

I know that in discussions in the committee - and my colleagues on the committee may wish to emphasise this - there were areas in which we were prepared to see how the provisions operated and, if they were not operating effectively, to come back and amend the legislation to make it work better. Having a formal review mechanism in place will allow the next Assembly to do that. I welcome that initiative from the Government. I welcome the Government's response to the committee's report. I think overall it is a positive response and a demonstration of the effectiveness of the committee system and dealing with the overwhelming bulk of objections, problems and concerns in a round table situation and in the committee process and leaving for the floor of the Assembly the most contentious issues that cannot be resolved except through the mechanisms of this place. I welcome the response and I look forward to the debate on Thursday.

MR MOORE (3.30): Mr Speaker, it is very satisfying to have a response of the type that has been tabled today by the Minister to Report No. 35 of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment. Over the last almost three years of this Assembly, with a couple of notable exceptions, the committee has demonstrated a very positive working relationship in producing many reports. It has found ways to deal with issues brought to it by the Government, it has sought compromises with the Government and with each member of the committee and it has tried to take into account the concerns of the community as a whole. I think we have been particularly successful in doing that. In pursuing that goal with the environment protection legislation we have achieved what I think is very rarely achieved in parliamentary processes, and that is a very sensible approach which reflects community values. It reflects community values because we are fortunate enough to have a proportional representation system that elects members with a range of views that are put in the Assembly, in committee deliberations and in negotiations with government.

Mr Corbell described some of the processes that we went through as late as last night, when the Government sat down with the committee and explained where they thought we had misunderstood something or perhaps not taken something into account. After that process, in one or two cases we still simply disagreed. Appropriately, those matters will be resolved on the floor of the Assembly. But what was refreshing to me was that even though we modified recommendations in agreement with the Government it became clear to each of us that we had the same intention; that we were looking at the principles behind the legislation and trying to deliver according to those principles. In a number of cases we wanted to go about it in different ways, but when it came to the crunch we said, "No, this way will do". Compromises were made on both sides of the fence. I think this was a very useful exercise, and because of it we have much stronger environment protection legislation. That was the goal that all of us were interested in achieving.

MS HORODNY (3.33): Mr Speaker, I too have to say that it has been a very satisfying process that we have undertaken in this committee, both in the work that we have done within the committee and in the round table that we held last night. On leaving that meeting last night, I wondered why we could not deal with more Bills from this Assembly in that way. I think it was very satisfying all round to clarify points, to try to work with the common ground and to put aside the issues on which we could not reach agreement and debate them here on the floor, as we will on Thursday. It was a very satisfying process. I hope we can conduct more of those processes here in this Assembly.

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