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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 8 Hansard (28 October) . . Page.. 2397 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: These documents are tabled in accordance with sections 31A and 79 of the Public Sector Management Act, which require the tabling of all executive contracts and contract variations. You will recall that the Chief Minister tabled contracts and variations on 23 September 1998. Today I have presented three fixed-term contracts. The contracts relate to the executive director, Planning and Land Management; executive director, Environment Protection; and director, Environment Protection - all with the Department of Urban Services. Finally, I would like to alert members to the issue of privacy of personal information that may be contained in the contracts. I ask members to deal sensitively with the information and respect the privacy of individual executives.

Debate resumed from 27 May 1998, on motion by Ms Tucker:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services) (5.37): Mr Speaker, the Government supports Ms Tucker's Bill. We believe that it is a good move forward in helping the building industry as well as protecting the environment. We have some amendments that Ms Tucker has agreed to.

MS TUCKER (5.37), in reply: That was short and sweet. I understand that the Labor Party is also supporting this Bill, even though no-one from that party has spoken and said so. We look forward to their support. This Bill is a sensible Bill and obviously will bring benefits not only to the environment but also to the building industry and hopefully to employment in the ACT. Getting waste management plans in place is important to assist in reaching the no waste by 2010 target. We still have 60,000 tonnes to be recycled if we are to achieve no waste by 2010 in this area of activity.

This legislation will have flowthrough effects in the building and waste management industries. There are opportunities for new industries to be established. Government should play a role in the establishment and support of such industries. Also, it can play a part in educating and encouraging the community to use recycled products. It is good to see growing interest and support from the building industry for recycling waste. As members are aware, the MBA has produced a comprehensive report on the issue but government, as I said, must also play a proactive role in ensuring the success of this legislative requirement through measures such as purchasing policies to encourage environmentally sustainable business practices.

We still have a long way to go in the ACT. The MBA report recommended that all government or government-sponsored construction tenders for the purchase of material be required to maximise the use of recycled materials. This is a good suggestion, and I hope government works for the industry to ensure that the ACT achieves best practice in this area.

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