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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 5 Hansard (26 August) . . Page.. 1367 ..

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, I have to press the point of order which has been taken. Mr Berry said "if there is smoke around". That is obviously a reference to a phrase - - -

MR BERRY: I am happy to withdraw "if there is smoke around" if the stench bothers people, but I do not believe them.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you.

MR SPEAKER: I present, for the information of members and pursuant to subsection 8(4) of the Legislative Assembly (Broadcasting of Proceedings) Act 1997, an authorisation to broadcast given to a number of television and radio networks in relation to the proceedings of the Assembly for today, 26 August 1998, concerning the suspension of standing orders in relation to the Health Regulation (Abortions) Bill 1998.

MS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (3.32): Mr Speaker, for the information of members, I present the State of the Environment Report 1997 for the Australian capital region. It is on CD-ROM. I move:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

It is an interesting scenario when we have to move that the Assembly take note of the paper and there is not one. I would hope that in the term of this Government there will be more circumstances where we will be able to provide information to the Assembly in this form. It is certainly a much more accessible form, and something that I am certainly proud of.

This report is an example of regional cooperation initiated and developed through the regional leaders forum. It is a first in many ways. It is the first major exercise undertaken by the forum; it is the first cross-border State of the Environment Report, at least in Australia; and, as far as we know, it is the first State of the Environment Report that has been produced on interactive CD-ROM. This new format contains text, maps and other images in an innovative manner. It is interactive and moves state of the environment reporting closer to being an important planning and management tool. Readers can interrogate the data to help them determine the condition of their environment and to help them understand potential effects that human actions may have on the environment. The maps allow readers to view the region at various scales as a whole or as local government areas or to zoom in on localised areas. Sensitive areas that need to be managed carefully can be easily detected at a local scale, as can the more robust areas.

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