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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (3 December) . . Page.. 4401 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

members to an application as part of good decision-making practice. These committees are an important forum for dialogue between animal users and groups concerned about animal welfare and, if treated constructively by all sides, can be a positive contribution to improving the welfare of animals.

I am aware that the current Animal Welfare Regulations reflect the Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for research purposes released by the National Health and Medical Research Council. I do not believe that this should be regarded as a restriction on what this Assembly agrees to. As we have said regularly in this Assembly, the Greens believe that the ACT should be leading Australia on social and environmental reform. Somebody has to take the lead in challenging existing national agreements and proposing improvements. We think the ACT is in an ideal position to do this.

If the Assembly passes this Bill, it will be leading Australia on this important ethical issue. I only regret that this Bill has taken a long time to get to the Assembly, due to the general delays that we have had in getting Bills drafted through the Parliamentary Counsel. We may run out of time to debate this Bill during this Assembly; but at least the issue of animal experimentation has now been brought to public attention, and I hope that either this Assembly or the next one will be able to make the next step to further protect the rights of animals by passing this Bill.

Debate (on motion by Mr Humphries) adjourned.

MS TUCKER (10.41): I present the Nature Conservation (Amendment) Bill 1997.

Title read by Clerk.

MS TUCKER: I move:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

This Bill brings together two major changes to the Nature Conservation Act which the Greens have been working on and thinking about for some time. The most controversial is probably the introduction of protection orders for native trees on private land in the urban area. Secondly, the Bill gives special protection status to endangered ecological communities.

I deal with tree protection first. Members would be aware that section 43 of the Nature Conservation Act already contains the rudimentary tree protection order for native trees on unleased land in the urban area and native trees on leased or unleased land outside the urban area. Members would recall that for a time there was some confusion about whether trees on leased land in the urban area were also covered under this section,

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