Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (4 December) . . Page.. 4621 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

here in this chamber. The event was a great success and put this Territory on the map in regard to similar sorts of events. As an aside, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I hope that other committees will seek to host similar events, because I think it assists in having people recognise the role that the ACT Assembly plays.

Returning to my statement, two reports were on specific road projects, one involving Nudurr Drive in Palmerston and the other on the possibility of extending Ginninderra Drive in Lyneham across Southwell Park to meet Northbourne Avenue. Neither issue was easy to deal with and both involved on-site inspections and public hearings. One report was on the Government's retail policy measures. Finally, two reports were on the State of the Environment Report and environmental accounting. As well, the committee made statements about a strategic plan for the Territory, proposals for the Civic cultural centre, developments affecting sections in Bruce and Kingston, and a proposed church in Chisholm.

What did I learn from all this activity that might be of benefit to the members who come together in this place next March? The first thing I learnt is that it is impossible to complete this workload without some additional resources being made available to our one permanent officer. That reiterates what Mr Whitecross said a few minutes ago. Over the life of the Assembly we used seconded officers on two occasions to complete two major inquiries, and we are convinced that this is a good way to go in the future. Two seconded officers learnt a very great deal about parliamentary processes and committee deliberations, which will serve them well in their future careers in the Public Service. For our part, the quality of our reports - the increased detail and the extra time for research - is enhanced by an increase in committee support.

The second thing I learnt is that planning and environment can be successfully put together in the one committee. I know that some of my colleagues on the committee believe that a separate environment committee would enable more environmental issues to be dealt with, and perhaps in a better way, but I think we have to acknowledge that the experience of the Planning and Environment Committee in this Assembly shows that the two issues of planning and the environment can be handled by just one committee.

The third thing I learnt is that a committee with four members, which reflects the political make-up of this Assembly, is a very good basis for committee work. All but one of our reports and all but one of our statements have been unanimous. This means that the Government gets a very clear message about what we four backbenchers from four different parts of the political spectrum think about an issue. This can simplify consideration of options by the Government. A further two reports, although unanimous, contained clear statements about conflicting views held by members on one or two specific issues. These statements did not detract from the reports but, rather, served to show the Assembly that we had successfully used the committee system to narrow our differences to the bare essentials. On these matters the final decision, quite properly, belonged to the Assembly itself. It is interesting to note, Mr Speaker, that the view that I held always went to the losing position, but that will not take you by surprise.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .