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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4976 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

I am sure that the people who live around the Downer Oval would be interested to know that this is part of the Government's consultation protocol, because in no way were they consulted about what was happening on the Downer Oval. The excuse given by Mr Stefaniak to date has been: "Because we are putting in those change sheds, we do not need to notify anybody about it".

Under the heading "When to consult", the protocol makes various points about timing and consultation. The first is that "the issue directly affects a significant group in the community". These are the people who live around Downer Oval.

Mr Stefaniak: I talked to them several times.

MS REILLY: But when did you talk to them, Mr Stefaniak? And did you give them information that they could understand and that answered their questions?

Mr Stefaniak: In the end, they probably would have been the most consulted-with group that you could think of.

MS REILLY: Right. The second point is that "the proposal will significantly affect the rights and entitlements of ACT citizens". A significant number of people or particular groups are likely to have strong views on the issue. Other points in the list are that "the change or issue is likely to directly affect the quality of life for people of the ACT" and that "the Government has insufficient information on which to make a decision about an issue affecting a smaller number of people". None of these criteria appear to have been followed in Downer, because the issue was discussed at a public meeting, which you did not attend, Mr Stefaniak, but which I did attend - - -

Mr Stefaniak: I think you are probably a bit wrong there, actually. There is also a planning process, Ms Reilly.

MS REILLY: I have not got to that yet, Mr Stefaniak. You are not the only one involved in this. There was a public meeting held with the Downer Residents Association. There were 30 people present. They raised a number of issues with an official from the Bureau of Sport, Recreation and Racing. At that time, he did not answer a lot of the questions. At that time, he did not tell people when the facilities were being built on their oval. This is an oval that is well used by the community.

So, there is little point in having a consultation protocol if it has no meaning and if the Government is not following its own protocol. You have spent this money. Hard work has been put in by the people in the Chief Minister's Department, and you just ignore it. So, what is the point of having a protocol that nobody bothers to worry about? It suits you to say, "We have a protocol"; but it does not suit you to actually follow it in any way at all, to answer the questions that people ask. It is the same situation in relation to Downer and an even graver situation in relation to those people living in the houses at Macquarie. So, why do we have all these bits of paper if Government Ministers are not going to provide leadership and follow their own consultation protocol? It makes it rather meaningless.

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