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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 4182 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

begrudged by many Canberrans. I think it will be embraced because citizens of this Territory have come to appreciate that the bush capital in which they live is a delicate creature which deserves ongoing protection and active support through the actions of individuals to ensure that it thrives and continues to be there into the future.

The legislation obviously is complex. That is unavoidable in dealing with issues of this magnitude. I can guarantee, however, that the Government is committed not simply to passing the Bill tonight and patting itself on the back, but to complete implementation of the new legislation. Several people have pointed out that how well the legislation is implemented will depend to a large extent on the process of educating the Canberra community about the changes involved. Once the Bill is passed and its form is finally settled, we will have to engage in a very large process of education of the community. This is a large law. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, and a law which imposes, in a sense for the first time, a real duty to the environment has to be explained; it has to be brought to the attention of everybody in the Territory.

As I undertook to committee members earlier, the legislation has been amended to provide for statutory review after it has been in operation for two years. It is my intention that this review be conducted by a high-level steering committee, drawing representatives from business, the community and government. This should give adequate time for a complete round of processes to operate and function under the legislation, and be an appropriate time to review and, if necessary, finetune the legislation.

In closing, I would like to place on record my personal thanks to many people in a range of areas - the reference group which guided the development of the legislation, particularly in the later stages, the industry and community groups; a number of industry bodies; the Conservation Council and other organisations - who contributed to the development of the legislation. There has been a team of people within the government service which, as Mr Moore indicated, has spent a large amount of time. In fact, the team has worked for much of the last few months exclusively on bringing this legislation to the stage where it can be brought before the house tonight.

One always has the fear, when one creates a great new edifice completely reinventing a new area of government activity, that there may be flaws in the structure which could cause it to come crashing down if it is not fully thought through. I have been more than satisfied, in talking to those officers who have worked in this area, that they understand comprehensively what they are doing with this; that they have thought through the implications. When critics have come forward with possible problems, saying, "Have you considered this, this, this and this about the Bill", they have generally silenced those critics. I am very confident that, through the efforts of those people, we have been able to get a very sound working model. I look forward to being able to see the model finetuned in the future; but I am sure it will provide that level of environmental protection which we all want and aspire to in the Territory, and which I am sure will be of great benefit to the citizens of this Territory into the future. I commend the Bill to the house.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

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