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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4968 ..

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training): I present the Government's response to Report No. 34 of the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment, entitled "The Protection of Amenity Rights (such as sunlight and views) of Residents from the Impact of Satellite Dishes and Cables which are associated with Pay Television", which was presented to the Assembly on 4 November 1997.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (4.44): Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, for the information of members, I present the Government's response to the ACT State of the Environment Report 1997, which was presented to the Assembly on 25 September 1997. I move:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

In September, Mr Humphries had the pleasure of tabling the 1997 ACT State of the Environment Report, prepared by Dr Joe Baker. The Government has now considered his recommendations and prepared a response. The response adds weight to the Government's commitment to ecologically sustainable development. In the report Dr Baker makes 19 recommendations concerning environmental management of the ACT, all of which are supported either wholly or in principle by the Government. Where the Government's response is qualified, it is chiefly because the issues are already being addressed. Of the remainder, agreement is qualified because the matter is subject to the outcome of other processes or simply because of the resource implications.

I welcome the commissioner's ranking of his recommendations in order of priority, which was an issue on which the Government commented in its response to the 1995 report. This measure assists the Government to strategically deploy its limited resources. As members are aware, the commissioner is producing a regional report, which will be available later this month in an interactive compact disk format. I am particularly looking forward to the setting of the ACT state of the environment in an appropriate regional context and to the improved utility and access to be gained from the report's electronic format.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

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