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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (10 April) . . Page.. 886 ..

MR SPEAKER: Ms Tucker, you might withdraw that. You know that, if you want to suggest that a member has misled the Assembly, you have to do it by way of a substantive motion.

MS TUCKER: Well, I would like Mr Corbell to clarify his position.

MR SPEAKER: Ms Tucker, will you withdraw that?

MS TUCKER: Yes, I withdraw that.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you.

MS TUCKER: I don't want to interrupt the debate for that at the moment. But I am raising the question. I am asking Mr Corbell to check what he has said. Can I do that? If you look at the Territory Plan you will see there is a cross on this block. The key says that there is an overlay-it is urban open space; it is not public land. That is clear on the Territory Plan, so I think Mr Corbell needs to check that issue. It is indicated that this is not public land. At the time the Territory Plan was developed there must have been a recognition that this land did not have the same qualities as other open space areas in Canberra, and there was a prior lease on the land.

This part of Narrabundah is certainly not remnant woodland or grassland. It effectively forms a buffer zone between Narrabundah and the Monaro Highway, and has been significantly modified over the years by human activity. It adjoins the Canberra velodrome and the newly built golf facility. In his presentation Mr Corbell referred to this site as being part of the general broader Symonston area. But really this land is further south. It is a quite thin strip. As I said, it is a buffer zone and does not come within that consideration.

Ms Murray and Mr Swan started the Animals Afloat business four years ago. They rented a block in the Majura Valley where they lived and kept their animals, as Mrs Dunne has already explained. They were not able to stay there on a long-term basis, so when the opportunity came up to use the Narrabundah block, they moved their animals there. But the main problem has been that they have not been able to live on the site because of the nature of the lease. All Ms Murray and Mr Swan want to do is keep on that land the animals which they use in their nursery. They want to be able to live on site so that they can provide care to the animals and prevent vandalism of the property.

The land will continue to be open space in nature. It should be remembered that land use for rural activity in the ACT has long been regarded as part of the ACT's open space system, alongside the formally established nature reserves. I understand that their current lease allows them to keep animals, but through some anomaly in the Territory Plan they are not able to live on the site. This seems quite unreasonable and is a serious impediment to operating their business effectively. They have tried to commute to the block from their house in Mawson, as well as keep the baby animals in their backyard, but this has proven to be impracticable as well as a burden on their Mawson neighbours.

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