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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (25 May) . . Page.. 1785 ..

Yes. Pressure was put on us to a degree that if we did not support the government's option, which is the eastern alignment, we would not get a road.

Then, later on, Mr Rugendyke said-and I quote again:

Mr Gower, you have expressed concerns about the pressure that may have been exerted. Have those concerns been minuted in any way in association minutes or in any other form of documentation?

Mr Gower: No, they have been quiet chats at Christmas drinks and when we had the minister at our meeting, a quiet aside at that point.

MR RUGENDYKE: Discussion with the minister or?

Mr Gower: Yes.

MR CORBELL: You are suggesting that the minister himself has given you that indication?

Mr Gower: Not just suggesting it-

MR CORBELL: He did?

Mr Gower: He did. At the recent meeting we had Brendan Smyth, at our March monthly meeting of the community council and in a private discussion as he was walking out of that meeting, he said to me, quietly, "If the eastern route does not get up, then Gungahlin will not get a road."

Now, it actually goes on. I could read more but I think that has made the point about why we are concerned about what has gone on here.

Mr Smyth is now saying that clarification later from Mr Gower totally discounts all that evidence that was given to a committee of this place. It is not clarification. It is a complete reversal of position. That is why people on the outside looking in are concerned. That is why people on the outside say, "Why would a person say A at one point and then suddenly totally switch to B? Has something happened in between times?" Obviously, in this case, because the concern was that further pressure was put on this community group.

I will say that the Gungahlin Community Council has been in some confusion about where it wants the road, and I have made comments about that in the past. I thought it was of concern that a letter was put out in Gunsmoke asking people to sign a letter calling on the committee to understand the need Gungahlin residents felt for a road, but not a particular route, and also support a submission that would be later written. So that is an interesting process in itself.

I would be very cautious about signing a letter that said I support a submission which I have not seen. Mr Moore made that point yesterday in a debate here even though the material was available. He was saying he did not want to support something if he had not read it. That would not be so bad, I suppose, if people did have confidence that the letter

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