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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 11 Hansard (29 November) . . Page.. 3416 ..

MR MOORE (Minister for Health, Housing and Community Care) (4.45): I move the following amendment to Ms Tucker's motion:

Just today a member from my staff and the Minister for Urban Services met with the Yarralumla Residents Association. They were looking for a way through this matter. They recognised that indeed there were some real issues about the consultation process but they also recognised that the government has expended a significant sum of money on the consultation process. What they were seeking to do was find if there was a way they could move forward rather than throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The Minister for Urban Services had to leave the meeting early in order to attend question time. However, my staff member brought to me the suggestion that the meeting had agreed to.

The intention of Ms Tucker's motion is to make the point that the consultation has been inadequate and to find out what we are going to do about it. Her inclination is to get rid of it. The response from the residents at the meeting-and we listen to the community very carefully-was that we need to make sure that we know about what comes out of the consultative process.

We do know that the consultants are intending to present their draft findings to the residents in eight days time. So there is a process. The residents are interested in what the consultants will come up with. They want the consultants to respond to the sense of community; they do not want the report to be given just to government; they want to make sure that they have a say; and they want the government to understand exactly what is happening.

Therefore, I think the approach proposed in my amendment is a sensible way of dealing with the issues raised by Ms Tucker. It is, after all, the approach that the Yarralumla Residents Association agreed to at lunchtime today. So I strongly commend my amendment to you.

MR CORBELL (4:47): The government's record on the issue of the old Canberra brickworks is nothing but appalling. In view of this, it is not surprising that the minister is now leaving the chamber.

From the moment that I took on the shadow planning portfolio in the Assembly, the brickworks issue has been on the agenda. Over the past 18 months to two years we have seen from the government a continuing record of deception, incompetence and failing to consult the local community.

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