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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 10 Hansard (14 October) . . Page.. 3121 ..
MR HIRD (continuing):
Another issue is the power of the Government to withdraw the piece of land in question from the lease of the club. Advice from the Solicitor-General is that while this might be possible under certain circumstances it is highly unlikely that these circumstances apply to the Federal Golf Club situation. This advice leads the majority report to conclude that this is not an option that should be used in these circumstances.
It being 45 minutes after the commencement of Assembly business, the debate was interrupted in accordance with standing order 77.
That so much of the standing and temporary orders be suspended as would prevent consideration of Assembly business having precedence of Executive business until the Assembly has completed its consideration of Assembly business notice No. 3 today.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hird, your time has expired. Would you like an extension?
MR HIRD: Yes, sir. (Extension of time granted) The committee was advised by PALM that the proposal is consistent with the principles of the Territory Plan and with the commitment to the formal and informal open space system. That is an important point, and I am sure the Leader of the Opposition will take that into consideration. This issue was strongly contested during the hearings and in many written submissions. The dissenting report also argues that the proposal ignored these principles. However, the dissenting report also recognises that this is a matter of interpretation. PALM, as well as Mr Rugendyke and I, have interpreted the relevant provisions differently to our colleague Mr Corbell. Maybe this is another issue, like betterment, for debate at another time.
Mr Corbell has also questioned the proposed contradiction in PALM's thinking that the proposed development can be both isolated and highly accessible. I do not know whether Mr Corbell has ever been to Alice Springs, but I can assure him that the Alice proves that the two terms "isolated" and "accessible" and not mutually exclusive. The Alice has always been recognised as being isolated but certainly is not inaccessible.
Mr Speaker, the committee heard or read all of the evidence presented. We went out of our way to seek full explanations of many views put to us, and we particularly sought a great deal of further or clarifying information from PALM. The fact is that we have not been able to reach a unanimous position. I suspect this is because members have interpreted their tasks, as well as the evidence, differently. I do not see this as a major problem. While it would be nice and cosy to present a unanimous report on every occasion, that is not the way the world works.
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