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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 2 Hansard (10 March) . . Page.. 483 ..
MR CORBELL
: I thank members. I was very concerned about that. Members may be interested to see copies of these documents. I have them here available. I am sure that they can be circulated. The second comment is even more concerning than the first. Again, it is from Mr Trevor Budge, the lead consultant for the planning document, the rural residential development study. He says that the paper is being massaged. A fax from Mr Budge to an officer in parliament states:... the paper is being massaged ... Most points are a repeat of 7.1 and are not the only issues which emerge from the paper, rather they are a collection of any point which is favourable to the governments point of view.
They are not my words but the words of the consultant conducting the "independent" consultancy. Quite clearly, in this document the consultant says, "My report is being changed to suit the Government's point of view". I ask members: Is that what you believe is independent? Is that what you believe is outside of the control of others? Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table those documents.
Leave granted.
MR CORBELL: I thank members. There are a range of other issues raised as part of the discussion paper and there are further comments from Mr Budge which reinforce the changes the Government went to. The next comment is again from Mr Budge, again to an officer of PALM. He says:
I wont debate the issues section any more, but it still reads as an advocacy rather than a realistic summary of the issues raised by the paper.
Again Mr Budge says, "This has been changed to be an advocacy of the Government's position, to support rural residential, rather than a realistic summary of the issues raised by the paper". Is that this Government's idea of an independent study? Is it independent? Is it separate from outside interference? Is it separate from influence from others, or has it been changed to suit the Government's position? The reality is that it has been changed. I seek leave to table that document, Mr Speaker.
Leave granted.
MR CORBELL: I thank members. The final document I want to table is an excerpt from a draft document circulated within the ACT government service. A page from the document has a paragraph which outlines concerns raised in the consultation process by people who were consulted over the preparation of the document. It raises concerns about the Government's change of policy direction. I read from the document:
The commissioning of this study can be seen as a significant departure from a long standing widely understood approach to the planning of Canberra's rural areas. The 'agreement' which was entered into by the ACT Government with a private developer for the Kinlyside area to
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