Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (7 December) . . Page.. 3850 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

tabled in the Assembly within three sitting days of the authorisations as required by the Act.

This instrument provides for the transfer of funds for the amount of $200,000 from the Department of Education and Community Services to the Office of Asset Management. This appropriation was originally provided to the Department of Education and Community Services for the refurbishment of ACT Sport House. As the building is owned by the Office of Asset Management it is appropriate that funds be transferred from Education to Asset Management.

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services) (3:40): Mr Speaker, I ask for leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement on environmental management procedures at landfill sites.

Leave granted.

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, I move:

Mr Speaker, on 12 October this Assembly resolved that I should provide a report on proposals to improve the environmental management procedures at the West Belconnen landfill, and on procedures for checking the acceptability of waste delivered to the site. Members will recall that this matter arose when concerns were raised regarding the disposal of metal floc at the West Belconnen landfill. There has been an extensive review process undertaken since 12 October, but firstly we need to consider the outcome of the report in the broader waste management strategic context.

Mr Speaker, the no waste by 2010 strategy will mean that increasingly the ACT will need to deal with a higher percentage of more hazardous wastes going to landfill as the less innocuous wastes are gradually removed from the waste stream through increased resource recovery efforts. Over the past five years, waste to landfill has been reduced by 40 per cent and resource recovery has more than doubled. It is the goal of the no waste strategy that the waste stream will gradually diminish over the next few years, and industrial wastes are likely to be the hardest wastes to deal with effectively and will therefore be concentrated in the waste stream.

My department is working cooperatively with the private sector to help reduce the levels of commercial and industrial wastes going to landfill. For example, the development control code for best practice waste management in the ACT was recently introduced. This document provides assistance with waste planning to developers in an effort to reduce the amount of building and demolition waste going to landfill. We must continue to improve our waste management strategies in recognition of changes in environmental management procedures. The review that was commissioned in October will contribute to the refinement of our strategies.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .